“To protect national sovereignty from the EU?” The 2019 EP elections and populist parties in V4 countries

Abstract

This article analyses the 2019 European Parliament (EP) election manifestos of populist parties in V4 countries as a contribution to the contemporary discussion on political populism. The aim of the study is to analyze the election campaign programs which populist parties operating in individual V4 countries presented for EP elections in 2019, using a qualitative content analysis of the official election programs of relevant populist parties and other sources of their communication. It tries to identify topics that have been framed as a problem or risk by Central European populists and how these topics have been interpreted in their programs. The so-called “immigration crisis” and the contemporary state of the European Union are seen as the most problematic topics by a majority of the populists. On the other hand, the majority of these parties do not want some Central European version of Brexit. Their rhetorical goal is rather the reform the Union.

Trends shaping sustainable post-pandemic development of the V4 region in turbulent times until 2030

“…The populist parties in the V4 region might be more prone to take up certain topics such as immigration or the current state of the EU and present them as problematic. However, the majority of these parties in the region do not want an exit from the EU for their countries (Naxera et al , 2020). Previous research has shown that pandemic has exacerbated the already polarised beliefs.…”

On the Way to Limited Competitiveness: Political Consequences of the 2011 Electoral Reform in Hungary

“…In the long‐term perspective, the electoral system favoured larger parties at the expense of smaller ones, which resulted in bipolar political competition, albeit with a high degree of polarization. Because of that, Hungary's party system was relatively stable, closed and consolidated, compared to other countries of Central and Eastern Europe (see Enyedi, 2006; Casal Bértoa, 2012; Brunnerová, 2019; Naxera et al, 2020). At the latest in 1998, when most new political parties failed, a clear structure of bipolar competition emerged between a left‐wing and a right‐wing bloc regularly alternating in power.…”

‘Let us blow them down!’: Corruption as the subject of (non-)populist communication of the Czech Pirate Party

“…The Pirates’ communication is contextualized in the comparative perspective with the Freedom and Direct Democracy party (hereinafter referred to as SPD) led by Tomio Okamura and the ANO movement led by the current Prime Minister and one of the richest Czech entrepreneurs Andrej Babiš. The populist communication of these parties has been, unlike in the case of the Pirate party, well described and the parties fall within the clearly defined categories (radical right-wing populism and centrist/technocratic populism) (Hanley and Vachudova, 2018; Naxera et al, 2020; Stulík, 2019; Zulianello, 2020). Their communication serves here as a comparative reference to the communication of Pirates.…”