Twenty-First Century Populism: The Spectre of Western European ...

176 Twenty-First Century Populism
view that there are too many immigrants and who also expressed a low
degree of ‘political satisfaction’, 27 per cent voted for Le Pen.
Populism and the power of the ‘anti-political
establishment’ strategy
The Front National holds a clearly populist view of society as ‘ultimately
separated into two homogeneous and antagonistic groups, the “pure”
people versus “the corrupt elite” ’ (Mudde, 2004: 543) and its populist anti-
Establishment strategy has been crucial to the success of the party. Populism
is characterized by
(a) hostility towards the idea of representative democracy (within a democratic
context, this may manifest itself in calls for direct democracy);
(b) an image of ‘the people’ as a harmonious and homogeneous community,
pitted against ‘the political class’ or ‘the Establishment’;
(c) the idea that the populist party or leader represents ‘the voice of the
people’.
In Weberian terms, populist movements are charismatic, and try to base
their appeal and legitimacy primarily on emotions rather than on rational
considerations (cf. Weber, 1978: chapter 3).
Populist ideology and rhetoric accord an essential role to the idea of ‘the
people’. However, the term is ambiguous. The lines of inclusion are often
very fuzzy and populists are typically clearer about which groups are to be
excluded. As Paul Taggart (2000: 96) has suggested, the lines of exclusion
often correspond to ethnonationalist or ethnoregional identities. This
implies that populists often are ethnonationalist (which does not necessary
mean that all or even most ethnonationalists are populists).
However, although the party’s conception of democracy is a form of populist
Herrenvolk democracy, or ethnocracy, the Front National differs from
earlier French Right-wing extremist parties and movements in its selfproclaimed
acceptance of democracy (cf. Marcus, 1995: 102). Rather, the FN
is critical of existing, representative democracy, which it argues, is ‘a democracy
of appearance’. According to the party, there is a deep gulf between the
people and the political elite, and it is ultimately because of the existence of
this gulf that it rejects the idea of representative democracy (Souchard et al.,
1997: 135−136). In common with most other RRP parties, therefore, the
Front National supports direct democracy (cf. Mény and Surel, 2000: 61).
In order to mobilize protest votes, the Front National has used the ‘antipolitical-establishment
strategy’. A party using this strategy tries to construct
an image of itself in opposition to the ‘political class’, while simultan eously
trying not to appear anti-democratic. A party that is viewed as antidemocratic
runs the risk of being stigmatized and marginalized as long as