The Fight for the National Legacy becomes a Fight for Political Legitimacy: Hungary 2006 as a (Central) European Example
The Fight for the National Legacy becomes a Fight for Political Legitimacy: Hungary 2006 as a (Central) European Example

Summary/Abstract: The 2006 commemorations of the ‘56-Revolution in Hungary resulted in repeated mass demonstrations against the government and street rioting of the extreme right. The paper examines the representation of the Hungarian parliamentary and extreme right’s claim to be the only legitimate heir of the ‘56 Revolution, seen as a foundation of the present, democratic 3rd Republic; and consequently to be the only true bearer of national history as a whole. The reconstruction of enacted historical patterns and symbols used in the 2006 (and following) demonstrations attempts to retrace the references to the political and social division of the country – in the political discourse and landscape – with a focus on the representation of the right wing claim for national legitimacy through the use of artifacts like ‘56 monuments, the Museums Statue Park and the House of Terrors. The paper thus follows the assumption, that memory politics has become a central issue in post ‘89 claims of political legitimacy in East Central Europe because of the necessity to redefine the national past. Therefore, the Hungarian political patterns in this field are compared with other Central European examples, especially the Polish right – and with similar developments across the former Iron Curtain.

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