Is God a Populist?: Christianity, Populism and the Future of Europe by Susan Kerr & Jürgen Moltmann & Ján Figel’ & Christel Ngnambi

Author:Susan Kerr & Jürgen Moltmann & Ján Figel’ & Christel Ngnambi [Kerr, Susan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9788293097617
Publisher: Skaperkraft, FrekkForlag
Published: 2019-11-20T23:00:00+00:00

POPULISTS FIGHTING FOR A PURE SLOVAK REPUBLIC

One of the key features of populist politicians’ demagogy (and actions) in Slovakia has been the appeal to diverse elements of the ethno-national, by that I mean everything related to ethnic identity (including Slovak origins, language, symbols and culture more generally) and the relationships between members of different ethnic communities.[150] This is not surprising bearing in mind the Institute for Public Affairs’ findings on patriotism, and the defence of Slovakia. Whereas in the 90’s, it was the Czechs who were the scapegoats with their Prague-centricism,[151] populists then moved on to the Hungarian-speaking minority, which is the largest national minority in Slovakia constituting approximately one tenth of the population, almost half a million, out of just over five million inhabitants. National populists question whether their loyalty to neighbouring Hungary, rather than their loyalty to the Slovak Republic, could be a (potential) threat to the territorial integrity of the Slovak Republic. However, since representatives of the Hungarian minority form part of the governing coalition[152] alongside the Slovak National Party, this issue is not currently as divisive as it has been in the past.[153]

Another topic related to ethnicity has come into the spotlight—the Roma—Slovakia’s second largest national minority (100,000 inhabitants).[154] This group has been the focus of the populist rhetoric, both of governing populists and nationalists as well as populists and extremists from the political opposition, in particular over the past 10-15 years. The issues surrounding Roma people are linked to economics. The majority of the Roma population receive help from the state’s social welfare system.[155] This labels them as being scroungers of the system, an image that is periodically used by the populists.[156]

In addition to the topics mentioned above, populists thrive on debates on immigration,[157] sexual minorities and gender issues. Some populists also argue that Western liberalism and Western capitalism threaten the domestic Slovak economy as multinational companies become more powerful than the state.[158] Quite often this is coupled with suspicion towards third-sector organisations (NGOs), which is part of a global trend, and as mentioned above, an independent media. Critical journalists are portrayed as being tools of the undefined evil elites and foreign forces that threaten Slovak identity. These allegations, including by members of the governing coalition, are accompanied by conspiracy theories and alternative media. In the public debate on populism (e.g. newspapers and TV shows), it is more common to talk about populist speech, individual politicians or populist policies than populist parties. One can find populist claims about politicians of the current governing coalition as well as politicians in the opposition.

Slovakia is less than a year away from its next parliamentary election. The political situation is rather nebulous. New parties arise and certain established parties will probably not even be able to enter the parliament (e.g. for two of the current governing parties—Most-Híd and the Slovak National Party—the prospects are not good). So, the political map of the country could look very different in only a year’s time. Will Slovakia become more populistic or will

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.