The state for which people? The (not so) left populism of the Macedonian far-left party Levica
Assessing the political principles of the Macedonian far left party Levica (The Left) has been an elusive task for political commentators and scholars alike since its emergence in 2016. However, the importance of categorising the party has further increased after its success in the 2020 parliamen...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Centre for Southeast European Studies
2021-03-01
|
| Series: | Contemporary Southeastern Europe |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://unipub.uni-graz.at/cse/periodical/titleinfo/5885128 |
| Summary: | Assessing the political principles of the Macedonian far left party Levica
(The Left) has been an elusive task for political commentators and scholars
alike since its emergence in 2016. However, the importance of categorising
the party has further increased after its success in the 2020 parliamentary
elections in North Macedonia, marked by a series of controversial
statements by its leader, Dimitar Apasiev. As many pundits interpreted the
violent undertones of Apasiev’s words as an indication of Levica’s ‘fascist’
intentions, the focus has shifted away from its key feature: populism. While
this article does not attempt to deny Levica’s self-definition as a far-left
party, it does scrutinise the party’s claim to be a member of the ‘left-populist’
family of parties. Demonstrating the contradictions between official party
communication and social media posts by its leader, the article concludes
that Levica is in fact a valenced or polyvalent populist party, as it lacks the
inclusivity principle common for left populists. Importantly, however, the
article finds that Levica consistently utilises populism in all of its
conceptualisations – as ideology, as strategy and as discursive style –- a rare
practice for populist political actors. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2310-3612 2310-3612 |