Heroisation and victimisation: populism, commemorative narratives and National Days in Hungary and Poland

Abstract

Despite the significance of historical narratives on populism, the congruence between collective memory and scholarship regarding populism is scarce in Central and Eastern European countries. We address this gap by analysing the commemorative narratives of the competing populist rightwing political parties in Hungary and Poland promoted during celebrations for the Day of National Unity and National Independence Day celebration. The paper analyses the structure, content and functions of commemorative speeches to highlight the similarities and differences between the political actors under consideration. The findings reveal that victimisation and heroisation are constant and stable components of both countries' political narratives. Moreover, the elements of populist communication are articulated alongside nationalist themes emphasising the greatness of the nation, historical revisionism or national Catholicism. The references to the people using ethno-cultural and exclusionary terms are of particular significance. Although praised and credited with positive qualities, the Polish and Hungarian peoples are more frequently presented as victims of international enemies, European elites or internal, cultural and political elites. This victimhood status allows political actors to both represent themselves as advocates of the people and legitimises their claims.

Mobilization of shared victimhood in the radical right populist Finns Party supporters’ identity work: A narrative–discursive approach to populist support

“…For instance, Ruth Wodak (2015; see also Wodak & Boukala, 2015; Wodak & Forchtner, 2014) demonstrated how populist movements draw from emotionally appealing stories of past events and deploy particular borders and body politics to construct national uniqueness and homogeneity and to keep specific groups out. Lipínski and Szabo's (2022) study further explored the meaning of victimization and heroization in representing people as victims of international enemies, such as the European political elite. In Arlie Hochschild's (2016) concept of ‘deep story’, the citizens of Calcasieu Parish (Lake Charles, Louisiana) perceived the government as unfairly supporting minorities to proceed in a metaphorical line towards the American dream, which led to strong opposition to the legislative and support for populist leaders.…”