Chapter 5
Hungary
“We have the right to choose who to live with”: Discursive
legitimation strategies in the Facebook comments of Fidesz
supporters
This chapter investigates the motivations of a populist
party’s supporters in Hungary by examining what values and identities played
a role in shaping the voting preference of Fidesz supporters in the 2019
European elections. A sample of the first 500 most reacted comments in
response to the Facebook postings of the party on their social media
platform (Facebook) were analysed using van Leeuwen’s (2008) framework of legitimation strategies. The
findings of the study exposed that the discursive legitimation of the Fidesz
supporters embraces all the four dimensions in van Leeuwen’s framework. The
supporters promote values both at the individual level and at the level of
the generic community of the supporters. The supporters’ recontextualisation
of the party’s social media postings displayed enthusiasm, hope, the feeling
of love and adoration. These positive emotions appeared to stem from the
sentiment that the supporters feel at home in their country, and
nurture a grateful relationship with their own generic community.
Article outline
- Introduction
- The 2019 European Parliament election results in Hungary
- Fidesz
- The party’s Facebook campaign in the EP election
- A major driving force for supporters: Hungarian national identity
- Data collection and method of analysis
- Analysis and discussion
- Conclusion
-
Notes