Petőcz Kálmán (szerk.): National Populism and Slovak - Hungarian Relations in Slovakia 2006-2009 (Somorja, 2009)
Kálmán Petőcz: National Populism and Electoral Behaviour
National Populism and Electoral Behaviour ethnic Hungarians in southern Slovakia on a practical level. If we admit that Slovaks inhabiting ethnically mixed territories of southern Slovakia show better understanding of the minority rights issue and greater tolerance with respect to various models of ethnic coexistence (as it is often emphasized by politicians, media commentators and some academics), it should affect their electoral behaviour in a statistically significant manner. It is interesting to compare the views of individual parties’ voters regarding the issue of Slovak statehood to their views regarding the degree of government’s involvement in social security issues. In the mentioned survey carried out in spring 2006, researchers from the Institute for Public Affairs summed up the latter in the following graph. Graph 2 Government’s responsibility for citizens’ socio-economic situation ■ Indorsement of A □ Ambiguous views SB Endorsement of B Statement A: “Government should take care of its citizens ’ jobs and decent standard of living. ” Statement B: “Everyone should be responsible for their jobs and standard of living. ” Source: Institute for Public Affairs, 2006: Bútorová - Gyárfášová (2006, p. 122). A comparison of Graphs 1 and 2 reveals that the categories of voters who subscribe to the welfare state and to the national state overlap significantly. Dividing Slovakia’s political landscape based on individual parties’ position on the role of government (and the market) in socio-economic policies largely corresponds to dividing it based on their preference of the national or civic principle when building and administering the state. In both cases, we may find the same parties on each side of the political spectrum. 103
