Valence populism

Valence populism is a form of populist approach to politics that campaigns for widely approved issues. As a form of populism, it seeks to promote the interests of ordinary people. Unlike left-wing and right-wing populism, it lacks a consistent ideology and cannot be positioned on the left–right political spectrum. Instead, it promotes valence issues, that is, issues that many people support, such as anti-corruption, government transparency, democratic reform, and moral integrity. Valence populism is associated with anti-establishment sentiment and climate skepticism. Technocratic populism is a variant of valence populism, while centrist populism has been identified as a similar concept.

The concept of valence populism was largely built by political scientist Mattia Zulianello. It has usually been found in parties in Central and Eastern Europe. Despite this, the best-known example is the Italian Five Star Movement. Other parties described as valence populists include the Bulgarian GERB, Croatian Human Shield, Slovak OĽaNO, Slovenian List of Marjan Šarec, and Ukrainian Servant of the People. Political parties such as the Czech ANO 2011, Norwegian Progress Party, and Alternative for Germany began as valence populist parties but later shifted towards right-wing populism. As of 2024, valence populist parties achieved their best result in the 2019 European Parliament election.