When do Politicians Use Populist Rhetoric? Evidence from Italy

What factors influence politicians’ use of populist rhetoric in parliament? While previous literature has examined the use of populist rhetoric on social media and in campaign speeches, scholars have neglected to study the strategic rhetorical choices elected officials make in formal and policy-oriented settings. I seek to fill this gap by analyzing Italian parliamentary speeches and debates from 2013 to 2022. While support for populism is rising all across Europe, Italy is unmatched in its electoral support for populists, making it the ideal case to examine the competing factors that influence both populist and non-populist politicians’ rhetorical choices. Using natural language processing tools, such as sentiment and dictionary analysis, I explore how a politician’s party affiliation, government status, and proximity to an election impact their strategic use of populist rhetoric.