Legitimate activism or eco-terrorism? How populist radical right and center-right parties frame disruptive environmental ‘Last Generation’ protest

This article analyses right-wing party responses to disruptive ‘Last Generation’ climate action. Innovatively, it studies both populist radical right and center-right parties. We provide two original insights: First, populist radical right parties do not merely reject the claims of disruptive environmental activists but frame their forms of action as highly illegitimate, equating them with criminal behavior and even terrorism. Second, and crucially, mainstream center-right parties, including governing ones, have started to strategically adopt these frames of ‘ecoterrorism’, normalizing far-right claims in climate-related political conflicts. These developments constitute a significant shift in comparison to party responses to more moderate climate-related activism, especially for the case of center-right parties. Comparing Germany and Austria, we rely on a qualitative content analysis of newspaper coverage. Our arguments connect to research on climate activism, the question of party responses towards street protestors, and to debates on the mainstreaming and normalization of the far right.