I. YAKOVLEV CHUVASH STATE PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY BULLETIN

political discourse, “Political Ash Wednesday”, semantic-pragmatic analysis, populism, FPÖ, Austria, metaphor, irony, satire, political image

The article examines the linguistic-pragmatic mechanisms of political image formation in contemporary Austrian political discourse, focusing on the specific phenomenon of the “Political Ash Wednesday”. Based on the material of the public speech by FPÖ party leader Herbert Kickl at the party meetings in 2024 and 2025, the article analyses the linguistic means used to represent the images of the people, the political leader, the party and political opponents. Particular attention is paid to metaphorical constructions, binary oppositions, and pragmatic strategies of emotional mobilisation and self-praise, as well as invective strategies, frames of delegitimisation, and personified irony, through which politicians form negative images of their opponents and positive images of their own political camp.

The relevance of this work is determined both by the growing interest in political communication and by the insufficient study of the linguistic strategies of Austrian politicians in the context of the phenomenon of the “Political Ash Wednesday”. This sociocultural phenomenon combines elements of informal intra-party interaction and ironic communicative aggression directed at political opponents. The study aims to examine how ritual forms modify standard populist techniques, enabling the transmission of radical views in a socially acceptable format.

To address the research question, methods of linguo-stylistic analysis, pragmatic analysis, and discourse analysis were employed, aimed at identifying and systematizing linguistic means and speech strategies.

The results of the study demonstrate a number of patterns in the construction of images of key participants in the political process. It is shown that H. Kickl’s discursive practices correspond to the typological characteristics of right-wing populist discourse in Europe and serve to shape collective identity through moralising and intensifying conflict.

Kirillova, Olga Yuryevna – Candidate of Philology, Associate Professor of the Department of European Languages ​​and Linguodidactics, I. Yakovlev CHSPU, Cheboksary, Russia, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3761-6039, kirillowa@bk.ru

Kirillova, Natalya Stanislavovna – Master’s Degree Student, Faculty of Foreign Languages, I. Ulyanov Chuvash State University, Cheboksary, Russia, https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6103-0892, kirillova.01@bk.ru

Pushkin, Aleksandr Sergeevich – Master’s Degree Student, Faculty of History, Philology, Management and Law, I. Yakovlev CHSPU, Cheboksary, Russia, https://orcid.org/0009-0008-8330-2456, 2001.sanya@mail.ru