Democracy After the Covid-19 Pandemic: a Populist Shift of Meaning in the Austrian National Council

During the Covid-19 pandemic (2020-2022), Austria experienced four nationwide lockdowns, several regional shutdowns, school closures, and other restrictions, such as limited restaurant opening hours. In autumn 2021, the voluntary vaccination rate was relatively low, prompting the government to consider implementing compulsory vaccination. Although the law never came into force and all other measures were based on laws that passed the parliamentary procedure, the oppositional Freedom Party (FPÖ) referred to Covid-19 measures as an attack on democracy and civil rights. The management of the pandemic faced criticism from a heterogeneous protest movement. As a populist strategy, several leading FPÖ politicians acted as speakers at these protests. In parliamentary debates, they framed the protests as authentic expressions of the people's will and claimed to represent it against the united political elite in government and parliament. Since the pandemic, the FPÖ has gained ground in all elections and came first in the 2024 National Council elections. This paper investigates the discursive strategies of the FPÖ in parliament since the pandemic and examines how they indicate a shift in the meaning of democracy.