NATIONALIST POPULISM AND POST-COMMUNISM

“There is a fundamental distinction between the culture of the rulers or power holders and that of the masses. Those who must deal with power and have responsibilities for the decisions of government invariably develop outlooks on politics different from those of the people who remain observers or marginal activists. Even in the most democratic societies, this distinction remains in spite of almost heroic efforts of leaders to pretend that they are of the same spirit as the common citizenry, and of citizens and commentators to feign that they are intimately knowledgeable about the inner workings of government.” 17 In reference to Pye’s observations, it can be argued that the political elite in transitory societies tended to accept “new” (democratic) values and patterns of behaviour quicker than the general population. This was mostly because they considered the integration with Western institutions to be an important goal for their countries, and so were pushed to accept the integration criteria. However, in the acceptance of democratic values, they were confronted with their own value preferences as well as with the “attitudinal demands” of their voters. Moreover, after the removal of foreign pressure, it turned out that the political elite tended to return to their old behavioural patterns that were characteristic for earlier stages of the country’s transformation. 18 The willingness of the political elite to fulfill the “attitudinal demands” of the masses is believed to increase before elections, when they are trying to attract potential supporters. Since the political elite are publicly known, the public assigns particular importance to their appeals and statements. This is also due to the fact that they have better access to electronic and print media. Even though the elite culture might be significantly different from the mass culture, and so could be the language of the elite, at election time the political elite usually resists introducing issues that do not coincide with public opinion or the attitudinal demands of the public. The relationship between the mass and elite political culture, as well the dynamics of changes in the political language, therefore remain interesting subjects for further research.

17 Ibid., p. 15. 18 In this regard, the performance of Fico’s new government in Slovakia and Kaczynski’s former government in Poland might serve as examples.

14