I Partiti Populisti nell’ Europa del Sud e la Crisi Finanziaria del 2008 e degli anni successivi: successo, insuccesso e innovazione in prospettiva comparata

Populist parties have thrived in Southern Europe in recent years. This is often related to the demand-side influence of the financial crisis and its disastrous impact on the quality of life of ample sectors of the population throughout the region. This paper argues that, on the one hand, the success of populist formations needs also to be related to distinctive supply-side factors of the political market. On the other hand, contextual factors constitute political opportunities that play an important intervening role. With reference the three test cases of Italy, Greece and Spain, a set of demand-side and supply-side factors are examined and their interaction with contextual factors is analyzed. The resulting structure of populist formations is described. The analysis frames populism as a discursive strategy that selectively benefits populist parties in their attempt to expand their relevance as political representatives of disaffected groups of the population.