"Not a coincidence that so many far-right parties have female leaders"
An increasing number of far-right parties in Europe are led by women. Yet, these parties have relatively few women among their voters, members, and elected representatives, according to researchers.
From left: Marine Le Pen of Rassemblement National, Alice Weidel of Alternative for Germany (AfD), and Giorgia Meloni, leader of Brothers of Italy, are among the most prominent female leaders on the far right in Europe.(Photo: Flickr / Wikimedia Commons)
SimonGramvikScience Journalist for Kilden Genderresearch.no
Published
What do Georgia Meloni, Marine Le Pen, and Alice Weidel have in common?
They are women – and leaders of far-right parties.
According to Ragnhild Louise Muriaas, professor of political science at the University of Bergen, this is a paradox:
"Many of these parties have had female leaders, but at the same time, they have lower support among female voters, fewer female members, and a lower proportion of female elected representatives, both locally and nationally."
Muriaas, together with Jana Birke Belschner, a researcher at the University of Bergen's Department for Comparative Politics, has written the textbook Å studere kjønn og politikk (Studying Gender and Politics).
Annonse
"Most parties, including those on the right, are still led by men. Female party leaders are still the exception," says Belschner, adding:
"But there have been more of them, especially on the far right."
In the same party family
Giorgia Meloni, leader of Brothers of Italy, Marine Le Pen of Rassemblement National, and Alice Weidel of Alternative for Germany (AfD) are among the most prominent female leaders on the far right in Europe.
But women have also made their mark in the Nordic countries. Both the Danish People's Party in Denmark and the Progress Party in Norway identify themselves as liberal people's parties, but are often described as right-wing populist.
According to Ragnhild Muriaas, female leaders on the right are often portrayed as 'mother figures.'(Photo: University of Bergen)
What unites them in the same party family is primarily their opposition to immigration and the rhetoric they use, according to Muriaas and Belschner.
Both parties have had women at the forefront: the Danish People's Party was founded by Pia Kjærsgaard, while Siv Jensen and Sylvi Listhaug have led the Progress Party.
Other female newcomers on the far right include Riikka Purra, who has led the Finns Party in Finland since 2021. In Denmark, Inger Støjberg, who founded the Denmark Democrats in 2022 – a national conservative party with a strict immigration policy – has also become a central voice.
In the UK as well, the Conservatives have gotten a party leader who leans towards the far right. Kemi Badenoch, born into a Nigerian family in London and partly raised in Nigeria, was appointed party leader in November 2024. The 45-year-old has been described in the French newspaper Le Monde as "a right-wing politician with no time for 'wokism'," and is known for using sharp, immigration-critical rhetoric.
Not a coincidence
"Is it a coincidence that so many parties on the far right, both nationalist and economically liberal, have female leaders?"
"No, it's not a coincidence," says Belschner.
She explains:
"Many of these parties are relatively young and less established than centre-right parties. That can give women greater opportunities to reach the top."
Annonse
Rassemblement National, formerly Front National, and the Norwegian Progress Party are the oldest among the parties in this family, founded in 1972 and 1973 respectively. The Danish People's Party and the Finns Party followed in 1995, while Brothers of Italy and AfD were only established in 2012 and 2013.
"In newer parties, like many of the right-wing populist ones, it's often possible to advance quickly. You can enter politics later in life and still reach top positions," explains Muriaas.
Women chosen deliberately
According to Belschner, these parties often deliberately choose female leaders.
"When a party is struggling or perceived as too radical, a female leader can help soften the party's public image. It can also be a strategy to appeal to female voters," she says.
Far-right parties have traditionally had lower support among women, she adds. When a large proportion of voters are less inclined to support the party, it becomes a challenge that needs to be addressed.
One thing she finds particularly interesting:
"The female leaders who are chosen don't necessarily differ ideologically from the rest of the party."
Mothers of the nation
The parties of Le Pen, Meloni, and Weidel are all nationalist and often draw on traditional gender roles. According to Muriaas, they are often portrayed as 'mother figures.'
"Look at Marine Le Pen in France. She has been presented as the 'daughter of the nation,' which reinforced the image of her as a natural successor to her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen," she says.
This framing allows Marine Le Pen to appear as a kind of 'caretaker for the entire nation,' according to the researcher.
Muriaas points out that this contrasts with the USA, where fewer women have reached top leadership positions on the far right comapred to Europe. While figures like Marjorie Taylor Greene have gained visibility, the upper ranks of the Republican Party remain male-dominated.
"The USA is essentially a 'frontier nation' or a nation built through conquest, which gives its nationalism a different symbolic tone than in Europe. The traditional image of a 'mother figure' guarding the nation doesn’t resonate in quite the same way there," she believes.
Unconventional women on the far right
Many female leaders on the far right emphasise traditional family values – which they do not necessarily adhere to themselves, according to researchers.
Giorgia Meloni, an outspoken advocate for traditional family values, has a daughter but has never been married. Her relationship with TV journalist Andrea Giambruno ended in 2023 after a series of sexist remarks he made were aired, according to the British newspaper The Guardian.
Marine Le Pen, on the other hand, has been married twice. First to Franck Chauffroy, with whom she had three children, and later to Éric Lorio. Both marriages ended in divorce.
Muriaas explains that this is not necessarily hypocrisy but rather a reflection of their political roles:
"They work extremely hard and choose to prioritise politics."
"Most parties, including those on the right, are still led by men," says Jana Belschner.(Photo: University of Bergen)
A growing number of queer far-right figures
Alice Weidel, who was recently referred to in the online Norwegian newspaper Nettavisen as a "lesbian Führer," lives in the small Swiss town of Einsiedeln with her long-term partner, filmmaker Sarah Bossard, who was adopted from Sri Lanka as a child. Together they have two sons, aged eight and twelve.
"It's interesting that there are queer people in far-right parties, both men and women. They are fewer than in other parties, but they do exist," says Belschner.
The concept of 'homonationalism' was introduced by the American queer theorist Jasbir K. Puar in her 2007 book Terrorist Assemblages: Homonationalism in Queer Times. It describes how LGBTQ+ rights can be used to reinforce nationalist politics.
One of the most well-known examples is Pim Fortuyn, the openly gay Dutch politician who founded the right-wing populist party Lijst Pim Fortuyn (LPF) in 2002. Fortuyn argued that women, gays, and lesbians needed protection from what he described as homophobic and misogynistic immigrants, especially from Muslim countries.
"Alice Weidel is a special case. Even though she lives with a dark-skinned woman, that doesn't mean she supports inclusive policies," Belschner emphasises.
The fact that her partner, Sarah Bossard, is Swiss and not an immigrant can also be used strategically by both Weidel and the party, she adds.
"So it can be used as a signal that AfD isn't racist, but 'only' critical of immigration – as in: 'look, I have nothing against dark-skinned women, I just don't want Muslim men here'," says Belschner.
Female leaders have strong symbolic value
Media researcher Kristin Skare Orgeret explains that 'femonationalism,' a term introduced by the British sociologist Sara R. Farris, is based on similar mechanisms as homonationalism. She believes that defending minorities can serve as a rhetorical tool for female leaders on the political right.
"Far-right parties use what appears to be feminist rhetoric and ideas as part of a racist and xenophobic strategy," explains Orgeret, who is a professor at OsloMet's Department of Journalism and Media Studies.
At times, this leads to contradictions, says Orgeret. She points to the French movement La Manif Pour Tous, which between 2012 and 2014 campaigned against same-sex marriage under the banner of "a white, anti-Muslim feminism."
Orgeret has also observed that more women are taking leadership positions in far-right parties.
"As social and economic insecurity grows, we see a trend where more and more female voters place their trust in the promises of populist parties. Especially when those promises come from a female leader."
She agrees with Muriaas that female leaders have strong symbolic value. They can be portrayed as protectors of Western values and as mother figures – but also as 'outsiders.'
"The fact that women hold leadership roles can, in some countries, strengthen the image of the far right as a political movement that breaks with the established power," says Orgeret.
She points to Giorgia Meloni:
"Several commentators have highlighted her ability to personify the outsider role as one of the key reasons for her success."
