European elites deployed the word populist to discredit antiausterity movements

Evidence

Herman Van Rompuy was right, in at least one unexpected sense: a populist moment was taking place in the 2010s. He was insightful enough to see it from the outset. It should now be clearer, however, what he meant by the term. Based on the baneful connotations the p-word had accumulated throughout its turbulent history—a mix of demagoguery, illiberalism, and irrationality—he aimed to discredit the antiausterity movements that were flourishing all over the West, by depicting them as a threat to liberal democracy. — Arthur Borriello and Anton Jäger, The Populist Moment, 84

Categorization

• SEED: Naming a political enemy ‘populist’ is itself an elite rhetorical weapon; angle for a piece on weaponized label politics.
• XREF: connects to: Conspiracy theories often stem from legitimate populist suspicion of elites — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 66; Right-wing populism’s anti-finance rhetoric masks its deep integration with financial elites; Condemning ‘populism’ indirectly delegitimizes popular sovereignty itself — Arthur Borriello and Anton Jäger, The Populist Moment: The Left After the…, 51

Broader Connections

• Condemning ‘populism’ indirectly delegitimizes popular sovereignty itself #expands (0.85) — Arthur Borriello and Anton Jäger, The Populist Moment, 51
• Right-wing populism’s anti-finance rhetoric masks its deep integration with financial elites #complicates (0.75)
• Conspiracy theories often stem from legitimate populist suspicion of elites #complicates (0.70) — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 66