A Populist Desire: “All You Need Is the Heart of the People Rather than the Palace’s Screens”

Abstract

The populist repertoire relies on the glorification of the people against the elites and establishment; it operates through an antagonistic discourse driven by blame and emotional appeals. The opportunity to observe the populist style emerges during “critical moments” in political life when the appeal to the people becomes clear in the midst of the competition to determine how the conditions of life will be reproduced. There are a limited number of studies of female populist leaders that focus on their alternative role or form of political articulation. This article aims to contribute to our understanding of female populist leadership by examining the populist discourse and performance of Meral Akşener, the General Chair of the İYİ Party (the Good Party) in Turkey. Akşener’s campaign speeches during the presidential election of 2018 are analyzed with a view to understanding how populist frames came to permeate the Zeitgeist in Turkey at that time.