The European attitudes of populist political parties in South Europe. Focus in the Italian, French and Spanish cases : is there a relationship between populism and the European attitude among the populist parties?

Abstract

At a time when the EU is constantly challenged by growing hostility to the European integration project, it is important to understand the relationship between the populist wave that haunts its Member States’ political landscape and the expansion of the phenomenon of Euroscepticism. For this purpose, this research aims, firstly, to identify and understand the different populist rhetoric assumed in Southern Europe. Secondly, it seeks to understand how the EU is framed in the narrative of the parties, in order to describe the dynamics of Euroscepticism and to catalogue the different populist political parties within a more or less Eurosceptic framework. Finally, the research examines the relationship between the two variants — the populist rhetoric mobilized by the political parties and their stances towards the European integration project. Based on the analysis of the political programs of each party, the research highlights the reactionary nature of the phenomenon of Euroscepticism. It also argues the interpretation of Euroscepticism as a discursive formation, similar to what occurs with the populist phenomenon at the national political level. Last but not least, the results of this research culminated in the need to understand the political positions in relation to the European integration project intrinsically linked to the domestic political landscape, which ultimately motivates and conditions the dynamics and discursive contents of the phenomenon of Euroscepticism.