Populist political leadership and political parties in Lithuania

Abstract

The chapter analyses the relevance of populist political leadership and political parties in Lithuania focusing on the causes of their rise and the growth of their (un-) popularity. It aims at answering the following questions: which political leaders and political parties are considered populist in Lithuania? What are the causes of their rise and factors influencing their popularity? What are specific characteristics of Lithuanian populist political parties and movements? First, author reviews the development and changing environment of populism in Lithuania during the last 20 years trying to make a list of relevant cases of populist leadership and political parties. Second, the discourse and specifics of rhetoric of the selected cases is examined by making analysis of their election materials and messages in the media. The author concludes with the discussion of recent events related to the populism in Lithuania in the context of COVID-19 crisis.