Right-Wing Rural Populisms: Comparative Analysis of Two European Regions

The most significant political fact of the latest elections within the European Union is the growth, in all states, of right-wing "populist" political formations. Alongside this, one of the most relevant aspects is the significant share of support that these "parties" have in suburban, peripheral and rural areas. Starting from this premise, the first part of the article aims to discuss the relevance of the rural-urban dichotomy and how territorial differences are an important factor in the growth of right-wing populism. The second part proposes a comparative analysis of the political trends recorded in recent years in two economically advanced European regions: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (France) and Lombardia (Italy). The analysis of the official results of the 2019 European elections and of the previous elections in the two regions, shows the entrenchment in rural areas of the consensus for right-wing populist formations (Lega and Rassemblement National) but also the presence of different discourses and political strategies, which reveal the different nuances that rural populism can take.