The staging of the Brexit rhetoric inside the European Parliament: The case of Nigel Farage

Abstract

This article explores populists’ construction of threats focusing on the example of Nigel Farage, a key Brexit figure and former Eurosceptic right-wing populist MEP. Over a span of two decades, Nigel Farage strategically staged a narrative portraying the European Union as a threatening organization in the European Parliament plenaries. This deliberate effort contributed to the escalating polarization between the established elite and what Farage constructed as ‘the peoples of Europe’. In academic literature, populism is recognized as a complex phenomenon deserving closer examination due to its demonstrated impact on polarizing the political spectrum and exerting pressure on democracy. This study employs a comprehensive methodology that combines content analysis, specifically focusing on explicit threats aimed at establishing a confrontational dynamic between the EU and its citizens along with emotion discourse analysis. The results of the analysis reveal Farage’s adept use of the European Parliament as an effective stage for constructing a narrative centered around a ‘Threatening EU’. His method involved issuing threats aimed at triggering primarily anger as well as fear that produces anger, among the audience. Farage’s case study sheds light on the intricate ways in which Eurosceptic right-wing populists construct threats to advance their agenda.