Pandemic frames : how is the European Union narrated by Italian (populist) parties during COVID-19’s first wave in Italy

Abstract

This article aims at assessing how Italian political parties framed the EU during the CIVID-19 crisis. In particular, it asks whether populist parties, generally characterised by Eurosceptic stances, use different narrative strategies regarding the European Union when they are in government and when they are in opposition. The combination of the high salience of the EU in the COVID-19 crisis, and the particular setting of the Italian government-oppositions structure with one major populist political parties on both sides, constitutes a valuable environment for this research. All parties are included in the analysis, with particular emphasis to the Five Star Movement, the League and Brothers of Italy. For the former, we also shed some additional light on the personal communication of two crucial figures, namely Giuseppe Conte and Luigi Di Maio.