Framing Energy Sovereignty: A Snapshot of Populist Narratives and Climate Politics in the Morawiecki Government (2021–2023)

Abstract

This article examines the intersection of populism and energy and climate policy in Poland, focusing on how government narratives shape public discourse and influence policymaking. Using a qualitative case study design supported by keyword frequency analysis, the study analyses political speeches and official communications by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki between 2021 and 2023, including parliamentary speeches and 300 posts from his official Facebook page. Drawing on Ernesto Laclau’s theory of populism, the analysis explores how the Polish government constructs the identities of ’the people’ and ’the elite’ within energy and climate policy discourse. The findings indicate that government communication frames ’the people’ as a unified national community associated with energy security, economic stability, and sovereignty, while portraying the European Union and other external actors as antagonistic elites advancing policies presented as unsuitable for Poland. Key concepts such as theEuropean Union, climate, and sustainable development, function as empty signifiers whose meanings are articulated within government discourse in ways consistent with broader political narratives. The author suggests that these narratives align with a policy approach prioritising energy independence, particularly through continued reliance on coal, while climate-related discourse receives comparatively less emphasis within the analysed communications. By linking populism theory with climate and energy policy, this article contributes to the growing literature on the political dynamics of the energy transition in Central and Eastern Europe. It highlights how populist framing can shape policy trajectories and complicate the implementation of European climate objectives, including the European Green Deal, in contexts where national sovereignty and identity are politically salient.