Эволюция риторики “Альтернативы для Германии” (Сравнительный анализ предвыборных кампаний в Европейский парламент 2019 и 2024 гг.)

Мировая экономика и международные отношения. 2025. Т. 69. № 7. С. 67–77.

Туренко А. Р.

The article focuses on the transformation of rhetoric of the “Alternative für Deutschland” (AfD) during two election campaigns to the European Parliament – in 2019 and 2024. The author proceeds from the assumption that there is a certain correlation between the electoral success and the level of populism expressed in terms of language the party uses. The populist party will soften its rhetoric during the election campaign, when it does not expect electoral success, in order to expand the potential electorate. Otherwise, when the party is expected to win, the rhetoric will be tougher. It is clearly the case of the 2024 campaign when the AfD’s political weight in the European arena has increased compared to 2019. Using various kinds of content-analysis, among which sentiment analysis is of key importance, the author points out that the rhetoric shown in electoral programs and posters is in line with the positions of the party and its fraction “Identity and Democracy” in the European Parliament. In two campaigns, the negative sentiment prevailed but changed slightly. The  thematic focus of both programs did not alter much. A  distinctive feature of the right-wing populists’ rhetoric is still the focus on migration issues. The results received at the junction of linguistics, political science and international affairs may be applicable for a more complex study of the campaigns to the European Parliament, employing the  data from 2014 (the first AfD’s entry in the  EP). This article could also be helpful for research in German populism, especially in the context of a populist actor entering the mainstream.

Keywords: Германия, избирательные кампании, European Parliament, Европейский парламент, right-wing populism, правый популизм, election campaigns, АдГ, Germany, Alternative for Germany (AfD), populist party, party rhetoric, популистская партия, риторика партии