It has been a good century for the populists so far. As populism has become a spectre haunting not only Europe but also the world (LSE IDEAS 2018), the Cambridge dictionary coined it as the word of the year in 2017 (Cambridge University 2017). The impact of populism has been felt vividly in events such as Brexit and the election of Trump as well as the astonishing levels of democratic backsliding observed around the world.

Understanding the appeal of such a phenomenon that came to hold a central place in contemporary politics thus becomes crucial. While the existing literature discusses underlying structural reasons such as cultural backlash or economic anxiety (see, for example, Mudde and Rovira Kaltwasser 2018) one also needs to examine political agency, including narrative strategies that frame the past as well as the currently existing conditions in particular ways. It is through narrative strategies that populist leaders exploit social facts such as existing social cleavages, economic crises, neoliberalism or immigration.

This chapter discusses how political narratives reinforce populism by instigating a certain sense of peoplehood and depicting the leader as the embodiment of the people as well as urging the leader to act unilaterally on behalf of the people at the expense of societal pluralism and institutional checks on the executive. Using contemporary Turkey, Hungary and Austria as cases studies, it demonstrates how stories of history, development and patriarchy are deployed by populist leaders Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (AKP), Viktor Orban (Fidesz) and Heinz-Christian Strache (Freedom Party – FPÖ).

Comparing the aforementioned cases provides sufficient variation to see how narratives operate within a wide spectrum of right-wing populism. AKP and Fidesz have been ruling their countries for a significant period of time (2002–today and 2002, 1998–2002 then 2010–today, respectively). The FPÖ remained mostly in opposition, having joined ruling coalitions as a minor partner multiple times and recently as a partner of the conservative Austrian People's Party (Österreichische Volkspartei – ÖVP), and having held key ministerial positions. The party is in opposition now, after a political scandal brought down the government in 2019, which also led to the expulsion of Strache from the FPÖ. Strache founded Team HC Strache – Alliance for Austria in 2020, another populist movement.