Constructing the Reality: the Perception of the European Union in the 2018 Hungarian Electoral Campaign

Abstract: The European Union as a sui generis political system has had its political myths from the beginning of its existence. However, as political myths are not static but are subject to change as groups in the society come up with alternative explanations, countermyths started to emerge already in the 1980s. In our days, we witness competing views – myths and countermyths – on the EU that are presented in politics. In this paper I examine the use of these competing views on the EU in the 2018 Hungarian electoral campaign. I conclude that while FIDESZ and its leader Viktor Orbán applied all countermyths of the EU in his speeches, opposition parties did not talk at all about the European Union, thus leaving the positive myths about the EU unheard during the campaign.

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