When the stakes are high: Campaign messages in Hungary

Abstract

While municipal elections are of less importance than national ones, the study of local election communication shows that there are cases when political actors frame them as first-order elections. In 2019, the opposition managed to challenge the ruling Fidesz-KDNP alliance in Hungary, and gained mayoral offices in strategically important places. In the campaign, PM Viktor Orban 's party stressed the importance of local elections, utilizing a complex conspiracy theory. They argued that the stakes were high because Hungary's sovereignty was at risk. In this article, I evaluate the findings of a content analysis conducted on 86 speeches that were performed as part of the ruling party's election campaign with a special focus on topics and character remarks.