Inventing and Re-inventing Populism to Protect Europe: The Case of the Italian Partito Democratico, 2007-2022

Abstract

ABSTRACT Populism has been used by its critics to support European integration. The case of the Italian Partito Democratico (PD) highlights that, as a relatively empty signifier, ‘populism’ affords parties scope to adapt to different circumstances, as evidenced by the evolving use of the term in relation to shifts in policymaking paradigms at the European level. In the period between the Eurozone crisis and the Covid pandemic, the PD changed the connotation of populism in relation to key debates at the European level. While initially the term was used mainly to contrast unproductive uses of spending by the Berlusconi government and then by the M5S-League coalition, the definition of populism narrowed as European support for austerity measures faded. More recently, the PD has started using the term almost exclusively as a synonym for right-wing extremism. The Italian case suggests that critics of populism continuously shift their understanding of the term in order to protect European integration.