Power to the people: Disidentification with the government and the support for populism

Abstract

Populist attitudes have been shown to predict voting behavior. These attitudes consist of a belief that everyday citizens are better judges of what is best for their own country than politicians and that the political elites are corrupt. As such, a clear “us” (pure and good everyday citizens) and “them” (the evil political elite) rhetoric is present. In the present research, we propose that identification with the government may predict whether people would vote for, and whether they have voted in the past for, a populist party (either from the political left or the political right). The present research (N = 562), carried out among French citizens, showed that lower government identification related to past voting behavior, current voting intentions and likelihood to switch from a non‐populist to a populist party. Identification with the government was also negatively associated to intention to abstain from voting. Moreover, government identification was a stronger predictor of these voting‐related outcomes than the recently developed populist attitudes measures. Unexpectedly, national identification was a not a significant predictor of voting behavior. In conclusion, the present research suggests that the extent to which citizens identify and feel represented by the government should be considered on par with populist attitudes in understanding support for populist parties. Perceiving that the government does not represent everyday people may be sufficient to abandon support for mainstream (non‐populist) political parties.

Mobilization of shared victimhood in the radical right populist Finns Party supporters’ identity work: A narrative–discursive approach to populist support

“…The adopted analytical tools from critical discursive psychology allowed us to identify four recurring interpretative repertoires from the material, namely, the diminishing meaning of Finnishness, the loss of social status, mistrust in the political elite and the interference of green liberal values. These interpretative repertoires resemble the results of previous studies examining populism (e.g., Im et al., 2022; Mols & Jetten, 2014, 2020; Spruyt et al., 2016; Staerklé et al., 2022; Urbanska et al., 2021). These societal developments were portrayed as threatening the interviewees’ and the perceived ingroup's unity, social status, political participation, traditions and ways of living, which echo the key identity principles in identity process theory and required the interviewees to seek to reattain an identity congruent with these principles (Breakwell, 1986).…”

“…These interpretative repertoires resemble the results of previous studies examining populism (e.g., Im et al, 2022;Mols & Jetten, 2014Spruyt et al, 2016;Staerklé et al, 2022;Urbanska et al, 2021).…”

“…The provided excerpts demonstrated that some dissociated themselves from the political realm by occasionally abstaining from voting and refusing to follow politics. However, as demonstrated in our analysis, some of our interviewees constructed the FP as an appealing alternative to the former ingroup – the old party and its elitist politics – which led them to re‐identify with a new one with tempting promises (see Anduiza et al., 2019; Urbanska et al., 2021).…”

“…The interviewee constructs an affective account of resentment and injustice by juxtaposing politicians with people in vulnerable positions, that is, the sick and elderly (lines 3–4; Edwards, 1999), thus mobilizing a liberal trope of equality to show disapproval of the political elite (Augoustinos & Every, 2007). These outlined discursive strategies construct a strong division between the political elite and the ordinary people, who are claimed to be better judges of what is best for the country (Urbanska et al., 2021). Hence, the interviewee constructs the political elite as a nemesis of not only themselves but a larger social group, that is, the Finnish people, negatively affecting their possibilities to influence politics.…”

“…This comment suggests that the interviewee wanted to put the Centre Party in its place by voting for the FP, one of the Centre Party's main challengers in rural areas of Finland. Overall, this narrative suggests that the decision to vote for the FP allowed the interviewee to reclaim their position as a political actor and restore their feeling of control (Breakwell, 1986; Urbanska et al., 2021). The lived experience of the encounter with the FP candidate left a lasting memory for the interviewee, which was symbolized by the matchbox (later during the interview, the interviewee revealed that they still have it).…”