Abstract:  This article offers a comparative analysis of how two prominent women populist leaders—Finland’s Riikka Purra and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni—respond to racist scandals involving themselves or their parties. The cases analysed include the resurfacing of Purra’s past racist online comments and Meloni’s reaction to racist and antisemitic remarks made by members of her party’s youth wing. Using actantial analysis informed by social representations theory, we analyse media-reported statements by the two politicians. The article identifies how these leaders negotiate political accountability and manage their image in the face of controversy. We show how scandals are not only individual crises but arenas in which shared social meanings are constructed and contested. Despite differences in the two politicians’ responses, our analysis shows the centrality of denial, self-defence, and counterattacks in their scandal management, calling into question the notion that right-wing populist women are bound by gender-stereotypical repair strategies. This study makes two contributions: First, it bridges the gap between two separate bodies of literature—women populist leadership and political scandal—by focusing on whether and how gender intersects with the performative dynamics of scandal response. Second, it highlights the utility of social representations theory in capturing how meaning-making functions in political crises. In doing so, the article advances our understanding of the intricate ways in which women populist leaders navigate politically damaging allegations.

Keywords:  accountability; actantial analysis; populism; racism; scandals; social representations; women populist leaders

Published:   29 July 2026

Issue:   Vol 14 (2026): From the Far-Right to the Far-Left: Women Populist Leaders in Comparative Perspective (In Progress)