Abstract
Many European countries have witnessed the rise of right-wing (nativist and authoritarian) populist parties over the last few years, which have gained significant votes and sometimes threatened the position of traditional parties. In Portugal, however, right-wing populism has failed to gain electoral support, and the populist discourse is scarcely found in Portuguese politics. In this comment, we offer four tentative hypotheses that explain why right-wing parties with a populist discourse are not present in Portugal: low levels of Eurospecticism, low immigration rates, lack of political space to develop, and lower engagement in communicating that same populism. We conclude that these dynamics create a special balance, and a rather specific political situation in Portugal that does not facilitate the spread of right-wing populism. This balance, we also argue, may be compromised if any of these dynamics suddenly change, potentially paving the way for right-wing populists in Portugal to achieve more political prominence.
Highlights
Many European countries have witnessed the rise of right-wing populist parties over the last few years, which have gained significant votes and sometimes threatened the position of traditional parties
Populism itself is one of the most complex concepts to define in political science
During the 1980s and 1990s, the Portuguese radical right suffered from this division, but by the 2000s, “radical activists were eager to try to gain a foothold in the political arena and take advantage of the winds of populism, identity politics, and protest that were beginning to sweep across Europe in the new millennium” (Marchi, 2013, p 135)
Summary
Many European countries have witnessed the rise of right-wing (nativist and authoritarian) populist parties over the last few years, which have gained significant votes and sometimes threatened the position of traditional parties. N the last few years, right-wing populist parties have been receiving increased support in some European countries. In this comment I touch upon four elements present in European right-wing populism: pro (or anti) Euroscepticism, immigration, national party composition, and the communication skills of its campaign.
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