Functions of the Word “Democracy” in Right-Wing Populist Discourses; the Case of the Rassemblement National and the Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs

Historically, the literature has defined the “far right”, the “radical right” or “right-wing populism” (hereafter RWP) as political organizations that are opposed to democracy. Depending on the author considered, this opposition is institutional or valorical. However, if we question the political field, RWP in its speech presents itself as the defender of democracy. Thus, in France, the Rassemblement National (RN) andin Austria, the Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs aim to “recover”, “restore”, or “protect” democracy. Through this “democratic rhetoric”, the literature argues that this is essentially a symbolic discourse rooted in a strategy of “normalization” of the parties to make them respectable in the eyes of the voter.
I aim to further refine this assumption by asking the question: in the speech of these parties, is “democracy” only a symbolic term, a strategic argument or is “democracy” also ideologically loaded? In other words, could it be argued that “democracy”, in populist discourse, corresponds to a symbolic argument as well as a very specific ideological lexis?
I will deal with different functions of the term “democracy” in the discourse (rhetorical function ; emotional function ; ideological function) while highlighting some of the tensions in its rhetoric. The case of the FPÖ allows me to compare the speeches of a party that is a member of the opposition and then a member of the government.