The right-wing populist parties in modern Spain and Portugal. Comparative analysis

Abstract

The article compares the Spanish party Voice (Vox) and the Portuguese “Enough!” (Chega). Based on a primary analysis of the content of election manifestos and a secondary analysis of the results of sociological surveys, the authors draw conclusions about how right-wing populism, characteristic of European countries, is formed in Spain and Portugal, as well as what place the above-mentioned parties occupy in national political systems in order to compare the two cases under consideration. Despite many similar slogans and promises, representatives of the two parties have different views on issues such as migration, nation-building and the role of the state in the economy. Nevertheless, both political actors should be recognized as the most influential small parties in their countries. A comparison of manifestos and coalition capabilities of both political forces allowed us to talk about the existence of different models of a radical right party. As a result, it was determined that Vox is characterized by right-wing ideas of cultural nationalism and left-wing ideas of state intervention in the economy, while Chega's party discourse is constructed on the basis of general ideological patterns of European rightwing populism.