The reins on far-right politicians: Recipe for success or something else?

“I am a woman, I am a mother, I am a Christian!“, was the central message of the winner of the Italian elections, Georgia Meloni, which he repeated countless times during the election campaign. On the one hand she was voted for by many Catholics because of her clear position in favor of the traditional Christian family. On the other hand, he publicly spoke out against abortion and the LGBTI community. The electoral success of Georgia Meloni also contributed to the votes of many freelancers, who believe that she comes from an underprivileged social class and therefore understands the concerns of small and medium-sized shopkeepers and entrepreneurs.

Do far-right and populist parties consciously choose a woman at their top, who can promote “softer” extreme political positions in society? Sociologist Katrin Fangen from the University of Oslo reckons there is a kernel of truth to this stereotype. “It is not new that many populist parties have long had women in top positions. But perhaps strategic choices have been made in favor of female officials in order to win as many female voters as possible”, the scientist emphasizes in the Norwegian magazine “Framtide”.

Marine Le Pen as a role model

Sociologist Dorit Geva from the Central European University in Vienna finds that adopting the model of France’s Marine Le Pen is now part of a new strategy of right-wing populist parties. “It’s a trend that Le Pen started about ten years ago, effectively inheriting the presidency of the then ‘Patriotic Front’ from her father. For her part, Giorgia Meloni formed the “Brothers of Italy” party exclusively with her own strength, leading it from a small marginal party to power with a percentage of over 20%. He has realized the impact, but also the power he possesses”, underlines Dorit Geva.

During the last two election contests, Marine Le Pen’s gender played a central role in the French politician’s political message. In this way, slogans about law enforcement, which might turn off liberal voters, are softened. “This is a strategy aimed at expanding the electoral base,” emphasizes the Austrian sociologist.

In Meloni’s case, gender doesn’t matter

In several Eastern European countries, such as Poland and Hungary, the scepters of power continue to be held mainly by men. Pavel Tserka from the think tank Council on Foreign Relations attributes this fact to the different roots of extreme parties in Eastern and Western Europe. While in the West these parties are characterized by anti-elite or anti-refugee positions and by their general Eurosceptic attitude, in Eastern Europe nationalist and populist parties arose mainly from right-wing parties, which slowly moved politically to the extreme right.

Giorgia Meloni’s electoral success is less due to her gender and more to the fact that she managed to position herself politically as an alternative proposal to the parties of the Draghi co-government and even at a time when Matteo Salvini’s League does not seem to be as attractive as before. We will now have to wait for the first samples of the new prime minister’s writing on her social policy. “Italy’s Adelphia party appears to attract men and women equally, with gender not a factor, despite references to traditional values ​​and fascist roots.” According to Pavel Cherka, Giorgia Meloni learned a lot from Marine Le Pen, but her political future depends on the particular Italian political conditions.

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