Alcoholic Mobsters and Welfare Criminals: Xenophobia, Welfare Chauvinism and Populism in Gyurcsány Ferenc’s Facebook Posts on Ukrainian Citizens Prior to the War
Petra Andits
This article examines how anti-Ukrainian sentiment was mobilized within Hungarian opposition politics prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Focusing on Gyurcsány Ferenc’s 2018 parliamentary election campaign, it analyzes two widely circulated Facebook posts that portrayed Ukrainians as welfare abusers and criminal outsiders. The article demonstrates how xenophobia, welfare chauvinism, and populist political style were combined through visual and narrative strategies to generate moral panic. By situating these representations in relation to Gyurcsány’s post-2022 pro-Ukrainian positioning, the study shows how Ukraine-related narratives function as strategically redeployable political resources rather than stable ideological commitments.
Keywords: Hungary, Ukraine, Gyurcsány Ferenc, populism, welfare chauvinism, migration, Facebook
References
Abts, K., Dalle Mulle, E., Van Kessel, S., & Michel, E. (2021). “The welfare agenda of the populist radical right in Western Europe: Combining welfare chauvinism, producerism and populism.” Swiss Political Science Review, 27(1), 21-40.
Bateman, S., Wildfeuer, J., & Hiippala, T. (2017). Multimodality: foundations, research and analysis. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton.
Bátorfy, A., & Urbán, Á. (2018). Facebook as the main political battleground. Mérték Médiaelemző Műhely.
Beck, L., Nagy, A.B., and Róna D. (2011). “Szabadesésben. Az MSZP 2006–2010. közötti népszerűségvesztésének politikai napirendi magyarázatai.” In: Enyedi Zs., Tardos R. and Szabó A. Új Képlet. A 2010-es választások Magyarországon. Budapest: Demokrácia Kutatások Magyar Központja lapítvány, pp.193–216.
Benczes, I. (2022). “Taking back control over the economy: From economic populism to the economic consequences of populism.” European Policy Analysis, 8(1), 109-123.
Bernáth, Gábor and Vera Messing (2015), ’Bedarálva: Menekültekkel kapcsolatos kormányzati kampány és a tőle független megszólalás terepei’, Médiakutató 2015(4) pp. 7-17.
Berti, C. (2021). Right-wing populism and the criminalization of sea-rescue NGOs: the ‘Sea-Watch 3’case in Italy, and Matteo Salvini’s communication on Facebook. Media, Culture & Society, 43(3), 532-550.
Bíró-Nagy, A., Győri, G., & Kadlót, T. (2015). “A populizmus az új korszellem?” Policy Solutions.
Bobba, G. (2019). “Social media populism: Features and ‘likeability’of Lega Nord communication on Facebook.” European Political Science, 18, 11-23.
Bozóki, A. (2015). “Broken democracy, predatory state, and nationalist populism.” In: P. Krasztev & J. Van Til (Eds.), The Hungarian patient: Social opposition to an illiberal democracy (pp. 3–36). Central European University Press.
Caglar, A., Sillo, T., & Jozwiak, I. (2011). Circular migration between Ukraine and Hungary: Background report.European University Institute.
Carmichael, S. G. (2019). Politicians' video logs as part of a performative democracy: An analysis of three UK political leaders. Media, Culture & Society, 41(5), 697-712.
Carmichael, D., & Archibald, J. (2019). “A data analysis of the academic use of social media.” International Journal of Information Technology and Computer Science, 11(5), 1-10.
Cohen, S. (2011). Folk devils and moral panics. Routledge.
Cossarini, P., & Vallespín, F. (Eds.). (2019). Populism and passions: Democratic legitimacy after austerity. Routledge.
Critcher, C. (2008). “Moral Panic Analysis: Past, Present and Future.” Sociology Compass, 2(4), 1127–1144.
Csigó, P., & Merkovity, N. (2016). “Hungary: Home of empty populism.” In: Populist political communication in Europe (pp. 299-310). Routledge.
Dahlberg, L., & Linde, J. (2019). “Populism as communicative practice: Exploring politicians' use of social media in the European context.” European Journal of Communication, 34(2), 147-162.
Das, R. (2018). “Populist discourse on a British social media patient-support community: the case of the Charlie Gard support campaign on Facebook.” Discourse, Context & Media, 24, 76-84.
Debreczeni, J. (2006). Az új miniszterelnök. Budapest: Osiris.
Demertzis, N. (2006). Emotions and populism. Emotion, politics and society, 103-122.
Efthymiou, D. E. (2020). “EU immigration, welfare rights and populism: A normative appraisal of welfare populism.” Global Justice: Theory Practice Rhetoric, 12(02), 161-188.
Engesser, S., Ernst, N., Esser, F., & Büchel, F. (2017). “Populism and social media: How politicians spread a fragmented ideology.” Information, Communication & Society, 20(8), 1109-1126.
Fesnic, F. N. (2008). Welfare Chauvinism East and West: Romania and France. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Gerbaudo, P. (2018). “Social media and populism: an elective affinity?” Media, Culture & Society, 40(5), 745-753.
Gerő, M., & Sik, E. (2020). “The Moral Panic Button 1: Construction and Consequences.” In: Europe and the Refugee Response (pp. 39-58). Routledge.
Greve, B. (2019). Welfare, populism and welfare chauvinism. Policy Press.
Gross, E. C., & Colson, A. J. M. (2025). “AI-Slop and political propaganda: The role of AI-generated content in memes and influence campaigns.” EON: Explorations in Online Narratives, 6(3), 289–298.
Hawkins, K. A., & Rovira Kaltwasser, C. (2017). “Populism and democracy in the 21st century.” The Oxford handbook of populism, 1-22.
Hogan, J., & Haltinner, K. (2015). “Floods, invaders, and parasites: Immigration threat narratives and right-wing populism in the USA, UK and Australia.” Journal of Intercultural Studies, 36(5), 520-543.
Hopster, J. (2021). “Mutual affordances: the dynamics between social media and populism.” Media, Culture & Society, 43(3), 551-560.
Huysmans, J., & Buonfino, A. (2008). “Politics of exception and unease: Immigration, asylum and terrorism in parliamentary debates in the UK.” Political Studies, 56(4), 766-788.
Jagers, J., & Walgrave, S. (2007). Populism as political communication style: An empirical study of political parties' discourse in Belgium. European journal of political research, 46(3), 319-345.
Joosse, P. (2018). “Expanding moral panic theory to include the agency of charismatic entrepreneurs.” The British Journal of Criminology, 58(4), 993-1012.
Kalynovska, I. (2025). “Visual counter-narratives: Political cartoons as weapons against Russian disinformation in Canadian digital media (2022–2024).” Пріоритети германської та романської філології, Conference Proceedings, 15–22.
Kiss, B. (2016). Orbán, Vona, Gyurcsány. Politikai vezetők integrációs tevékenysége a migrációs válság idején. Politikatudományi Szemle, 25(3), 10-32.
Kiss, B. (2019). A centralizáció évei. Politikai kommunikáció Magyarországon, 2006-2015. Akadémiai Kiadó.
Knaflic, C. N. (2020). Storytelling with data: let’s practice! Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Koechlin, 2018). “The use of Twitter and Facebook by populist parties in the 2014 European Parliament elections.” European Journal of Communication, 33(6), 677-693.
Kovács, E. K., Bachórz, A., Bunzl, N., Mincyte, D., Parasecoli, F., Piras, S., & Varga, M. (2022). “The war in Ukraine and food security in Eastern Europe.” Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture, 22(3), 1-7.
Körösényi, A. (2006). Gyurcsány-vezér. In Sándor, P. and Vass, L. Magyarország Politikai Évkönyve 2006. Budapest: Demokrácia Kutatások Magyar Központja Alapítvány, pp.141–9.
Körösényi, A., & Patkós, V. (2015). “Liberális és illiberális populizmus. Berlusconi és Orbán politikai vezetése.” Politikatudományi Szemle, 24(2.), 29-55.
Körösényi, A., Ondré, P., & Hajdú, A. (2017). A “meteoric” career in Hungarian politics. The Leadership Capital Index: A New Perspective on Political Leadership, 82-100. Palgrave Macmillan.
Kriesi, H. (2014). The populist challenge. West European Politics, 37(2), 361-378.
Krzyżanowski, M. (2020). “Discursive shifts and the normalisation of racism: imaginaries of immigration, moral panics and the discourse of contemporary right-wing populism.” Social Semiotics, 30(4), 503-527.
Lakner, Z. (2011). Utak és útvesztők. Az MSZP húsz éve. Budapest: Napvilág Kiadó.
Larsson, A. O. (2022). Picture-perfect populism: Tracing the rise of European populist parties on Facebook. New Media & Society, 24(1), 227-245.
Lutz, P. (2019). Variation in policy success: radical right populism and migration policy. West European Politics, 42(3), 517-544.
Manovich, L. (2020). Cultural analytics. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Mazzoleni, G. (2017). “Populism and the Media.” In: C. de la Torre (Ed.), Populism around the World (pp. 137-153). Oxford University Press.
Melegh, A. (2006). On the East-West slope: Globalization, nationalism, racism an discourses on Eastern Europe. Central European University Press.
Mérték Médiaelemző Műhely. (2018). State of the Public Sphere in Hungary in 2018.
Moffitt, B. (2016). The global rise of populism: Performance, political style, and representation. Stanford University Press.
Moffitt, B., & Tormey, S. (2014). “Rethinking populism: Politics, mediatisation and political style.” Political Studies, 62(2), 381-397.
Monteiro, E. N. (2025). “Populism in power: Discourse and performativity in SYRIZA and Donald Trump.” Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional.
Mudde, C. (2004). “The populist Zeitgeist.” Government and Opposition, 39(4), 541-563.
Mudde, C. (2017). “An ideational approach.” The Oxford handbook of populism, 27-47.
Mudde, C., & Kaltwasser, C. R. (2017). Populism: A very short introduction. Oxford University Press.
Nowotny, J., & Reidy, J. (2025). The meme as the message: Digital culture between algorithm, affect, and aesthetics. Routledge.
Olvera, A. J. (2026). The AMLO administration in Mexico: Polity, politics and populism. Routledge.
Pepin-Neff, C., & Cohen, A. (2021). “President Trump’s transgender moral panic.” Policy Studies, 42(5-6), 646-661.
Rooduijn, M. (2019). What unites the voter bases of populist parties? Comparing the electorates of 15 populist parties. European Political Science Review, 11(3), 305-325.
Ruzza, C. (2018). “Populism, migration, and xenophobia in Europe.” In: Routledge Handbook of Global Populism (pp. 201-216). Routledge.
Spierings, N., & Jacobs, K. (2019). “Political parties and social media campaigning: A qualitative comparative analysis of parties’ professional Facebook and Twitter use in the 2010 and 2012 Dutch elections.” Acta Politica, 54, 145-173.
Stanyer, J. (2019). Political communication in the digital age. Polity Press.
Schill, D. (2012). “The visual image and the political image: A review of visual communication research in the field of political communication.” Review of Communication, 12(2), 118-142.
Stocchetti, M., & Kukkonen, K. (2011). Critical media analysis: An introduction for media professionals. Peter Lang.
Szőcs, A. (2018). “Facebook-politikai aktivitás a 2018-as választási kampányban.” Médiakutató, 2, 59–69.
Tóth, Cs. (2011). “A márkajellemzők szerepe az MSZP összeomlásában.” In: Enyedi Zs., Tardos R. and Szabó A. Új Képlet. A 2010-es választások Magyarországon. Budapest: Demokrácia Kutatások Magyar Központja Alapítvány, pp.167–89.
Van der Waal, J., Achterberg, P., Houtman, D., De Koster, W., & Manevska, K. (2010). “‘Some are more equal than others’: Economic egalitarianism and welfare chauvinism in the Netherlands.” Journal of European Social Policy, 20(4) pp. 350-363.
Van Der Waal, J., De Koster, W., & Van Oorschot, W. (2013). “Three worlds of welfare chauvinism? How welfare regimes affect support for distributing welfare to immigrants in Europe.” Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice, 15(2), 164-181.
Van Oorschot, W., & Roosma, F. (2017). The social legitimacy of targeted welfare and welfare deservingness. In The social legitimacy of targeted welfare (pp. 3-34). Edward Elgar Publishing.
Wirz, D. (2018). “Persuasion through emotion? An experimental test of the emotion-eliciting nature of populist communication.” International Journal of Communication, 12, 1114-1138.
Wodak, R., & Reisigl, M. (2003). Discourse and Discrimination: Rhetorics of Racism and Antisemitism. Routledge.
Alcoholic Mobsters and Welfare Criminals: Xenophobia, Welfare Chauvinism and Populism in Gyurcsány Ferenc’s Facebook Posts on Ukrainian Citizens Prior to the War
Petra Andits
This article examines how anti-Ukrainian sentiment was mobilized within Hungarian opposition politics prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Focusing on Gyurcsány Ferenc’s 2018 parliamentary election campaign, it analyzes two widely circulated Facebook posts that portrayed Ukrainians as welfare abusers and criminal outsiders. The article demonstrates how xenophobia, welfare chauvinism, and populist political style were combined through visual and narrative strategies to generate moral panic. By situating these representations in relation to Gyurcsány’s post-2022 pro-Ukrainian positioning, the study shows how Ukraine-related narratives function as strategically redeployable political resources rather than stable ideological commitments.
Keywords: Hungary, Ukraine, Gyurcsány Ferenc, populism, welfare chauvinism, migration, Facebook
References
Abts, K., Dalle Mulle, E., Van Kessel, S., & Michel, E. (2021). “The welfare agenda of the populist radical right in Western Europe: Combining welfare chauvinism, producerism and populism.” Swiss Political Science Review, 27(1), 21-40.
Bateman, S., Wildfeuer, J., & Hiippala, T. (2017). Multimodality: foundations, research and analysis. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton.
Bátorfy, A., & Urbán, Á. (2018). Facebook as the main political battleground. Mérték Médiaelemző Műhely.
Beck, L., Nagy, A.B., and Róna D. (2011). “Szabadesésben. Az MSZP 2006–2010. közötti népszerűségvesztésének politikai napirendi magyarázatai.” In: Enyedi Zs., Tardos R. and Szabó A. Új Képlet. A 2010-es választások Magyarországon. Budapest: Demokrácia Kutatások Magyar Központja lapítvány, pp.193–216.
Benczes, I. (2022). “Taking back control over the economy: From economic populism to the economic consequences of populism.” European Policy Analysis, 8(1), 109-123.
Bernáth, Gábor and Vera Messing (2015), ’Bedarálva: Menekültekkel kapcsolatos kormányzati kampány és a tőle független megszólalás terepei’, Médiakutató 2015(4) pp. 7-17.
Berti, C. (2021). Right-wing populism and the criminalization of sea-rescue NGOs: the ‘Sea-Watch 3’case in Italy, and Matteo Salvini’s communication on Facebook. Media, Culture & Society, 43(3), 532-550.
Bíró-Nagy, A., Győri, G., & Kadlót, T. (2015). “A populizmus az új korszellem?” Policy Solutions.
Bobba, G. (2019). “Social media populism: Features and ‘likeability’of Lega Nord communication on Facebook.” European Political Science, 18, 11-23.
Bozóki, A. (2015). “Broken democracy, predatory state, and nationalist populism.” In: P. Krasztev & J. Van Til (Eds.), The Hungarian patient: Social opposition to an illiberal democracy (pp. 3–36). Central European University Press.
Caglar, A., Sillo, T., & Jozwiak, I. (2011). Circular migration between Ukraine and Hungary: Background report.European University Institute.
Carmichael, S. G. (2019). Politicians' video logs as part of a performative democracy: An analysis of three UK political leaders. Media, Culture & Society, 41(5), 697-712.
Carmichael, D., & Archibald, J. (2019). “A data analysis of the academic use of social media.” International Journal of Information Technology and Computer Science, 11(5), 1-10.
Cohen, S. (2011). Folk devils and moral panics. Routledge.
Cossarini, P., & Vallespín, F. (Eds.). (2019). Populism and passions: Democratic legitimacy after austerity. Routledge.
Critcher, C. (2008). “Moral Panic Analysis: Past, Present and Future.” Sociology Compass, 2(4), 1127–1144.
Csigó, P., & Merkovity, N. (2016). “Hungary: Home of empty populism.” In: Populist political communication in Europe (pp. 299-310). Routledge.
Dahlberg, L., & Linde, J. (2019). “Populism as communicative practice: Exploring politicians' use of social media in the European context.” European Journal of Communication, 34(2), 147-162.
Das, R. (2018). “Populist discourse on a British social media patient-support community: the case of the Charlie Gard support campaign on Facebook.” Discourse, Context & Media, 24, 76-84.
Debreczeni, J. (2006). Az új miniszterelnök. Budapest: Osiris.
Demertzis, N. (2006). Emotions and populism. Emotion, politics and society, 103-122.
Efthymiou, D. E. (2020). “EU immigration, welfare rights and populism: A normative appraisal of welfare populism.” Global Justice: Theory Practice Rhetoric, 12(02), 161-188.
Engesser, S., Ernst, N., Esser, F., & Büchel, F. (2017). “Populism and social media: How politicians spread a fragmented ideology.” Information, Communication & Society, 20(8), 1109-1126.
Fesnic, F. N. (2008). Welfare Chauvinism East and West: Romania and France. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Gerbaudo, P. (2018). “Social media and populism: an elective affinity?” Media, Culture & Society, 40(5), 745-753.
Gerő, M., & Sik, E. (2020). “The Moral Panic Button 1: Construction and Consequences.” In: Europe and the Refugee Response (pp. 39-58). Routledge.
Greve, B. (2019). Welfare, populism and welfare chauvinism. Policy Press.
Gross, E. C., & Colson, A. J. M. (2025). “AI-Slop and political propaganda: The role of AI-generated content in memes and influence campaigns.” EON: Explorations in Online Narratives, 6(3), 289–298.
Hawkins, K. A., & Rovira Kaltwasser, C. (2017). “Populism and democracy in the 21st century.” The Oxford handbook of populism, 1-22.
Hogan, J., & Haltinner, K. (2015). “Floods, invaders, and parasites: Immigration threat narratives and right-wing populism in the USA, UK and Australia.” Journal of Intercultural Studies, 36(5), 520-543.
Hopster, J. (2021). “Mutual affordances: the dynamics between social media and populism.” Media, Culture & Society, 43(3), 551-560.
Huysmans, J., & Buonfino, A. (2008). “Politics of exception and unease: Immigration, asylum and terrorism in parliamentary debates in the UK.” Political Studies, 56(4), 766-788.
Jagers, J., & Walgrave, S. (2007). Populism as political communication style: An empirical study of political parties' discourse in Belgium. European journal of political research, 46(3), 319-345.
Joosse, P. (2018). “Expanding moral panic theory to include the agency of charismatic entrepreneurs.” The British Journal of Criminology, 58(4), 993-1012.
Kalynovska, I. (2025). “Visual counter-narratives: Political cartoons as weapons against Russian disinformation in Canadian digital media (2022–2024).” Пріоритети германської та романської філології, Conference Proceedings, 15–22.
Kiss, B. (2016). Orbán, Vona, Gyurcsány. Politikai vezetők integrációs tevékenysége a migrációs válság idején. Politikatudományi Szemle, 25(3), 10-32.
Kiss, B. (2019). A centralizáció évei. Politikai kommunikáció Magyarországon, 2006-2015. Akadémiai Kiadó.
Knaflic, C. N. (2020). Storytelling with data: let’s practice! Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Koechlin, 2018). “The use of Twitter and Facebook by populist parties in the 2014 European Parliament elections.” European Journal of Communication, 33(6), 677-693.
Kovács, E. K., Bachórz, A., Bunzl, N., Mincyte, D., Parasecoli, F., Piras, S., & Varga, M. (2022). “The war in Ukraine and food security in Eastern Europe.” Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture, 22(3), 1-7.
Körösényi, A. (2006). Gyurcsány-vezér. In Sándor, P. and Vass, L. Magyarország Politikai Évkönyve 2006. Budapest: Demokrácia Kutatások Magyar Központja Alapítvány, pp.141–9.
Körösényi, A., & Patkós, V. (2015). “Liberális és illiberális populizmus. Berlusconi és Orbán politikai vezetése.” Politikatudományi Szemle, 24(2.), 29-55.
Körösényi, A., Ondré, P., & Hajdú, A. (2017). A “meteoric” career in Hungarian politics. The Leadership Capital Index: A New Perspective on Political Leadership, 82-100. Palgrave Macmillan.
Kriesi, H. (2014). The populist challenge. West European Politics, 37(2), 361-378.
Krzyżanowski, M. (2020). “Discursive shifts and the normalisation of racism: imaginaries of immigration, moral panics and the discourse of contemporary right-wing populism.” Social Semiotics, 30(4), 503-527.
Lakner, Z. (2011). Utak és útvesztők. Az MSZP húsz éve. Budapest: Napvilág Kiadó.
Larsson, A. O. (2022). Picture-perfect populism: Tracing the rise of European populist parties on Facebook. New Media & Society, 24(1), 227-245.
Lutz, P. (2019). Variation in policy success: radical right populism and migration policy. West European Politics, 42(3), 517-544.
Manovich, L. (2020). Cultural analytics. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Mazzoleni, G. (2017). “Populism and the Media.” In: C. de la Torre (Ed.), Populism around the World (pp. 137-153). Oxford University Press.
Melegh, A. (2006). On the East-West slope: Globalization, nationalism, racism an discourses on Eastern Europe. Central European University Press.
Mérték Médiaelemző Műhely. (2018). State of the Public Sphere in Hungary in 2018.
Moffitt, B. (2016). The global rise of populism: Performance, political style, and representation. Stanford University Press.
Moffitt, B., & Tormey, S. (2014). “Rethinking populism: Politics, mediatisation and political style.” Political Studies, 62(2), 381-397.
Monteiro, E. N. (2025). “Populism in power: Discourse and performativity in SYRIZA and Donald Trump.” Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional.
Mudde, C. (2004). “The populist Zeitgeist.” Government and Opposition, 39(4), 541-563.
Mudde, C. (2017). “An ideational approach.” The Oxford handbook of populism, 27-47.
Mudde, C., & Kaltwasser, C. R. (2017). Populism: A very short introduction. Oxford University Press.
Nowotny, J., & Reidy, J. (2025). The meme as the message: Digital culture between algorithm, affect, and aesthetics. Routledge.
Olvera, A. J. (2026). The AMLO administration in Mexico: Polity, politics and populism. Routledge.
Pepin-Neff, C., & Cohen, A. (2021). “President Trump’s transgender moral panic.” Policy Studies, 42(5-6), 646-661.
Rooduijn, M. (2019). What unites the voter bases of populist parties? Comparing the electorates of 15 populist parties. European Political Science Review, 11(3), 305-325.
Ruzza, C. (2018). “Populism, migration, and xenophobia in Europe.” In: Routledge Handbook of Global Populism (pp. 201-216). Routledge.
Spierings, N., & Jacobs, K. (2019). “Political parties and social media campaigning: A qualitative comparative analysis of parties’ professional Facebook and Twitter use in the 2010 and 2012 Dutch elections.” Acta Politica, 54, 145-173.
Stanyer, J. (2019). Political communication in the digital age. Polity Press.
Schill, D. (2012). “The visual image and the political image: A review of visual communication research in the field of political communication.” Review of Communication, 12(2), 118-142.
Stocchetti, M., & Kukkonen, K. (2011). Critical media analysis: An introduction for media professionals. Peter Lang.
Szőcs, A. (2018). “Facebook-politikai aktivitás a 2018-as választási kampányban.” Médiakutató, 2, 59–69.
Tóth, Cs. (2011). “A márkajellemzők szerepe az MSZP összeomlásában.” In: Enyedi Zs., Tardos R. and Szabó A. Új Képlet. A 2010-es választások Magyarországon. Budapest: Demokrácia Kutatások Magyar Központja Alapítvány, pp.167–89.
Van der Waal, J., Achterberg, P., Houtman, D., De Koster, W., & Manevska, K. (2010). “‘Some are more equal than others’: Economic egalitarianism and welfare chauvinism in the Netherlands.” Journal of European Social Policy, 20(4) pp. 350-363.
Van Der Waal, J., De Koster, W., & Van Oorschot, W. (2013). “Three worlds of welfare chauvinism? How welfare regimes affect support for distributing welfare to immigrants in Europe.” Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice, 15(2), 164-181.
Van Oorschot, W., & Roosma, F. (2017). The social legitimacy of targeted welfare and welfare deservingness. In The social legitimacy of targeted welfare (pp. 3-34). Edward Elgar Publishing.
Wirz, D. (2018). “Persuasion through emotion? An experimental test of the emotion-eliciting nature of populist communication.” International Journal of Communication, 12, 1114-1138.
Wodak, R., & Reisigl, M. (2003). Discourse and Discrimination: Rhetorics of Racism and Antisemitism. Routledge.
Alcoholic Mobsters and Welfare Criminals: Xenophobia, Welfare Chauvinism and Populism in Gyurcsány Ferenc’s Facebook Posts on Ukrainian Citizens Prior to the War
Petra Andits
This article examines how anti-Ukrainian sentiment was mobilized within Hungarian opposition politics prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Focusing on Gyurcsány Ferenc’s 2018 parliamentary election campaign, it analyzes two widely circulated Facebook posts that portrayed Ukrainians as welfare abusers and criminal outsiders. The article demonstrates how xenophobia, welfare chauvinism, and populist political style were combined through visual and narrative strategies to generate moral panic. By situating these representations in relation to Gyurcsány’s post-2022 pro-Ukrainian positioning, the study shows how Ukraine-related narratives function as strategically redeployable political resources rather than stable ideological commitments.
Keywords: Hungary, Ukraine, Gyurcsány Ferenc, populism, welfare chauvinism, migration, Facebook
References
Abts, K., Dalle Mulle, E., Van Kessel, S., & Michel, E. (2021). “The welfare agenda of the populist radical right in Western Europe: Combining welfare chauvinism, producerism and populism.” Swiss Political Science Review, 27(1), 21-40.
Bateman, S., Wildfeuer, J., & Hiippala, T. (2017). Multimodality: foundations, research and analysis. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton.
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