Abstract
This study addresses the prevalence of climate obstructionist stances, often linked to populist far-right parties (PFRPs), with a specific focus on the evolving discourse within centre-right parties, a less explored area in existing research. While PFRPs gain significant electoral support across Europe, their mainstreaming or normalization is evident when centre parties increasingly collaborate or form coalitions with them, showcasing a permeability between the two, notably observable on the communicative level. Using Austria as a case study, where the populist far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) achieved a result of 31 percent of the vote, taking first place in the 2024 National Council elections, ahead of the centre-right Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), which received approximately 26 percent of the vote, this research investigates the potential mainstreaming of climate obstruction within the ÖVP. Unlike previous studies focusing mainly on PFRPs, this research examines the centre-right (ÖVP's) discourse about climate change, aiming to identify whether populist far-right climate obstructionist positions have been adopted by the ÖVP over time. Utilizing social media data and press releases through a multimodal analysis, the study scrutinizes climate change communication within the FPÖ and ÖVP from 2013 to 2023. The goal is to assess whether the ÖVP's discourse about climate change reflects a case of mainstreaming of far-right ideologies in Austria.