Right-wing populist parties as defender of Christianity? The case of the Italian Northern League

Abstract

Right-wing populist parties have recently seen remarkable electoral success in Europe. The exclusion of the political elite and certain ethnic, cultural, or religious groups from the people is described as their core characteristics. Some scholars argue that—within this logic of reasoning—right-wing populist parties increasingly refer to (supposedly) Christian roots and traditions, which are said to be endangered by the immigration of ‘aggressive’ Muslims. Thus, right-wing populists abuse the Christian religion and traditions in order to exclude certain sections of the population from the people or to deny them access to the ‘Christian Occident’. Taking the Italian Northern League as a case study, this paper examines whether and in which context this right-wing populist party refers to Christianity. Based on a content analysis that examines both quality and quantity of Christian-religious references, election programs, articles from the party’s website, and the party’s Twitter account are analysed. In conclusion, it can be stated that the Northern League actually refers to Christian traditions, dignitaries, and followers only in the context of a demarcation rhetoric towards others—especially towards Islam, although these references are used rather rarely. In addition, the Northern League seems to be the only relevant Italian party that uses Christian references at all.