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The rise of populists across the globe has been one of the most-discussed political phenomena of the twenty-first century. These 'saviours of the people', promising to make their countries great again, have emerged and enjoyed electoral success in systems as diverse as Australia, France, the Netherlands, India, Venezuela and the United States. But what makes a leader 'populist'? Are they really charismatic as is often claimed? And are their movements and parties here to stay or will they crash and burn after the leader falls from grace? This article sets out the key defining features of populism and charisma, before looking in depth at the relationships between populist leaders and their parties in Italy and Switzerland. It concludes that, while populist leaders may come and go, populism in Western democracies appears here to stay.
The sustained rise of populists in Western democracies is a relatively recent historical phenomenon. Until the end of the 1960s, populism was largely considered by scholars to be something that happened 'elsewhere' in places like Latin America and Asia (lonescu and Gellner 1969). On the rare occasions that it did materialise in Western democracies, populism was confined to sporadic cases such as Guglielmo Giannini's Common Man's Front in late 1940s Italy or Pierre Poujade's Union for the Defence of Tradesmen and Artisans in 1950s France.
Today, this situation has changed entirely. Firstly, the period from the beginning of the 1970s until the end of the twentieth century witnessed an increasing emergence of successful populist leaders and parties, with Western Europe in particular proving a hotbed. Secondly, the new century has not only seen more and more populists making electoral gains, but in countries like Italy, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Austria and the Netherlands, they have entered ruling coalitions or supported minority governments in exchange for policy concessions (Albertazzi and McDonnell 2015). Most notably, in the United States, the populist Donald Trump was elected President in November 2016. Western democracies without strong populists have thus now become the exception rather than the rule.
In this article, I look at the roles of these self-appointed 'men and women of the people'. Having discussed what makes a leader 'populist', I examine the frequently linked concept of charisma. Thereafter, based on my research in Italy...