With Milei now pushing labour, pension, and institutional reforms well beyond the economic core that got him elected, our findings raise a live question: how much further can this coalition stretch before it fractures? Thoughts welcome. 6/6

Findings: Economic attitudes are by far the strongest predictor of support (anti-redistribution, pro-free-trade, "welfare makes people lazy"). Environment & immigration attitudes? No significant effect.👇 4/6

Let´s talk about #Ceuta. 1/ Ceuta again. Von der Leyen's response to people crossing: "our rules," "swift returns," partnering with Morocco to stop "dangerous crossings." No mention of protection, of solidarity, of why people are crossing in the first place. No Union, just Spain left alone.

First #EPSS26 done! ✅ Was a great success in an exciting city, Belfast (perfect time to be there as a populist scholar). Glad I was part of this new start! An applause for the organisers and all the volunteers who assist us in finding the rooms 👏 P.s. I need to work on my facial expressions.

The drama is not over 🍿

Trump: Meloni begged for photo with me, I felt sorry for her. Meloni in a IG video: I never beg, nor does Italy. Tajani, Italian Foreign Minister, has canceled his trip to the US.

While on the train for Belfast, let's wrap up #CES2026. I was lucky to share my first time here together with my great colleagues @maxheermann.bsky.social and @philippbien.bsky.social I'm very amazed to see the high quality of the works out there and the amazing scholars and colleagues.

I am always affascinated by the use of music by the right-wing parties (et Al.). Like the latest video published for showing how much fun they had this weekend the fascist gang talking about migration 👇 . Are there studies about music & right-wing parties/movements? Like, why Gigi D'agostino?

Looking at the USA, the rise of Alt-right, Trump and the Manosphera via Reddit, Podcasts & alternative SNS, we shouldn't be surprised to see Meloni using Podcasts to expand and normalise her radical right opinions. The same playbook used by her American friend.

Preparing the syllabus for the next semester. Inspired by @alessandronai.bsky.social. Goal: checking if students go through the syllabus. **Real Goal**: Be surprised by students on how much they know Italian cuisine besides "Pizza, pasta, spaghetti 🤌" and perhaps have some inspiration for dinner.

I checked Truth Social for the very first time. I am still alive, but with a lot of questions (not even about Trump, tbh), and I am not even sure I want to hear the answers.

This goes far beyond the usual populist playbook of loud rhetoric. While leaders like Meloni moderate in office, Trump opts for the real exit. Time to ask: can we still lump all “ RRW populists” together when some dismantle global governance, and others merely complain about it (e.g. Meloni)?

That's a great way to kick off the day as a true Bayerisch 🔥 On Tiktok is Currywurst and Automobilindustrie. Btw, Christmas is getting closer, keep an eye open on Salvini too 👀

In both cases, Trump and Söder use McDonald's and Döner as an electoral campaign tool, so pretty much as Salvini does. So there is a shift of style. Plus, Söder on his IG has created his brand #söderisst and there is mostly Baverian/German food.

7/ More considerations: 3. Can food become a "new" parallel cleavage together with rural/urban, local/global and ecology/energy, used in the populist rhetoric for construct "people" ? 4. Do we have other examples, besides Salvini, Söder and Bolsonaro (Farage?) ? Thanks for making it until here.

6/ However, some considerations. 1. Why are we not studying this phenomenon more in depth? Spam papers if you know more ⬇️ 2. Is it only a man style? MLP, for example, is quite focused on animals on her IG. Is then food another feature that distinguishes male/female politicians communication?

5/ Salvini postes food pictures & videos that criticise EU food/market rules/food policies. The meals are not just convivial, but they’re political statements that raise again the "us" vs "them" through an unstoppable crisis that sees the real Italians caged by the vegans dictatorship.

4/ Two "performative" styles: 2. Instrumental/campaigned used mostly by Salvini: staged food posts used to attack the EU (in paeticular food policies and what it's called "lab food"), promote nationalism (traditional celebrations food), and send clear political messages during elections.

3/ From this paper, I went through Salvini and Söder IG pages. ➡️ Two "performative" styles (roughly): 1. Localised/identity-based used mostly by Söder: beer, wurst, Bavarian traditions, roots the politician in local culture and masculine, folksy authenticity.

2/ In 2021 Demuru Paolo wrote a paper about Gastropopulism used by Savini and Bolsonaro. ➡️ Politicians use everyday food practices and images on SMS to perform being “one of us” and to draw a symbolic boundary between us (the people) and them (elites, foreigners, bureaucrats).

🔴 GASTROPOPULISM THREAD (very random, but why not talking about #populism) I was chatting with a colleague about Markus Söder’s endless beer-and-Bavarian-food pics, and immediately thought of Salvini’s “face + food” posts. I usually laugh about it, but let's have a thread on it.

New semester, new great lineup for our #InternationalStudies seminar with amazing speakers at @uni-konstanz.de ➡️ Gabriella Gricius @ggricius.bsky.social ➡️ Fabio Franchino ➡️ Livia Schubiger ➡️ Kenneth Schultz ➡️ Giorgio Malet @giorgiomalet.bsky.social ➡️ Timon Forster @timonforster.bsky.social

When a party mixes nostalgia for a “strong Japan” with revisionist undertones, it’s not just a policy debate, it’s a warning sign. The Sino-Japanese history problems have never been solved and faced. Mix this with an ongoing anti-chinese feeling and Sanseito, nothing good can come out of this.

In Japan’s polarised memory politics, wartime predations abroad aren’t just history, they shape the present. Denial of past atrocities risks more than diplomatic fallout: it can erode the democratic & pacifist ideals that define postwar Japan. Recent survey: chinascope.org/archives/334...

Just watched Dead to Rights. Hard not to think of Sanseito’s rising nationalist–populist rhetoric, its anti-migration stances also vs Chinese. Japan’s gov’t has acknowledged wartime wrongdoing but never issued a direct apology for the massacre. Ambiguity keeps the wound open & fuels mistrust.

My new my new home for the next two months. Excited to dive into this new adventure at the Monash University! @monashuniversity.bsky.social

With some delay from @ipsa.org, I made it through Seoul’s heatwave and the rainy season. Grateful to have been part of such a vibrant and stimulating environment. Had so many energising conversations with brilliant scholars from all over the world. Still buzzing with ideas!

Wrapped up a fantastic week at the #ECPR Joint Sessions—grateful for the inspiring discussions and brilliant colleagues. Big thanks to Lisbeth Zimmermann and @raffaelemstr.bsky.social for organizing a great workshop on the international politics of the far right! @ecpr.bsky.social

Branded as undemocratic, the #AfD now flips the populist script exploiting Merz's failed vote to frame CDU and SPD as the real enemies of the people. Celebrating a democratic deadlock as a response to anti-democratic criticism. I need 🍿

So it happened ("ooh that's a big one"), now who is next in the line? Meloni? Wilders? Le Pen? Now that Trump has normalized the withdrawal from IOs, we could expect that more populists will claim the same, supported by their audience already critical towards international governance.