Populism in the election campaign: How political rhetoric is influencing the current election campaign

The election campaign for the 2025 federal elections has changed the political landscape once again - and populism is playing an increasingly dominant role. Prof. Dr Nils-Christian Bormann, conflict researcher at Witten/Herdecke University (UW/H), analyses the risks and effects of populist rhetoric in the context of the current election campaign.

Dangerous division through populist rhetoric

Populism divides society into "the people" and "the elites". The term "elites" is often used as a fighting term to describe a supposedly detached, privileged group; this can refer to the government, banks or even the media, which allegedly act against the interests of "the people". In contrast, populists proclaim that they are acting in the interests of the people.

In the current election campaign, populist tactics that rely on simple solutions have repeatedly attracted attention. "Populists claim that their political opponents disregard the true welfare of the people and portray them as corrupt," says Bormann. Added to this is the recourse to the so-called "golden age" - a past that is portrayed as better and less complex. This often goes hand in hand with anti-migration, nationalist rhetoric: "The call to return to a supposedly better state is often associated with the marginalisation of ethnic non-Germans."

Why populist messages resonate

Populist messages are particularly attractive because they offer simple answers to complex social problems. "For certain groups of voters, populist promises are enticing because they hold out the prospect of an improvement in the economic and socio-psychological situation," says Bormann. People who feel alienated from politics and its institutions in particular often respond directly to populist slogans.

The political debate and its consequences

But what does the increasing spread of populist rhetoric mean for political culture? "Populism simplifies the political debate, which may seem helpful at first glance as it mobilises previously excluded voters. However, as populism often goes hand in hand with anti-democratic ideologies such as radical ethno-nationalism [1] and the deliberate dissemination of falsehoods, it can divide society in the long term and undermine trust in democratic institutions," warns Bormann. The conflict researcher emphasises that populist discourse has changed in recent years: "Ten years ago, international institutions such as the EU were the main targets of populist criticism. Today, the rhetoric is increasingly directed against migrants." This increasing focus on migration and the creation of enemy stereotypes is also likely to have a significant influence on the course of the 2025 general election.

[1] Ethno-nationalism is a political ideology that defines belonging to a nation primarily in terms of shared ethnic characteristics such as ancestry, language or culture and often emphasises separation from other groups.