‘We are the only true environmentalist party’: Populist self-promotion of far right in Slovakia
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| Year of publication | 2024 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | The electoral success of the far right parties is increasing across Europe and these parties are also increasingly commenting on environmental issues. In this paper, I show how Slovak far right parties use environmental issues for populist selfpromotion. Three concepts can explain the tendency to use environmentalism for populist self-promotion of far right parties. By these concepts, the far right parties use the environmental issue for populist strategic considerations, demonstrating authenticity and creating part of a chain of equivalence. The empirical analysis is based on analysing official political texts, videos and statements from 2019 to 2023 by selected Slovak far right parties (the People’s Party Our Slovakia, the Republic, and the Homeland). Populist strategic considerations is visible in the protection of ordinary people against incompetent officials and activists, in the promotion of food and energy self-sufficiency, and in emphasising common sense nature protection. Slovak far right parties try to demonstrate their Slovak and populist authenticity through nature. They organise trips to Slovak mountains traditionally associated with the Slovak nation or organise environmental actions. The parties also connect environmental issues with other issues important to it (e.g., the Roma minority or criticism of the European Union) and thus create part of a chain of equivalence. Far right parties use all these actions to brand themselves as the only true nature protectors. Thus the main reason why Slovak far right parties accent environmental issues is for their self-promotion. |
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