A year after the populist turn in Hungary in 2010, a heteronormative definition of family became part of the Hungarian constitution. This paper researches the speeches of Viktor Orbán from 2011, specifically the linguistic construction and the valuation of the symbol „family“. I used the method of critical discourse analysis to identify the inner logic of populism by exploring the construction of production vs. reproduction in the Hungarian populist discourse. As the gender aspects of the Hungarian populist logic has only been vaguely researched – and rarely from a feminist perspective – the current paper has a special importance.
Important components of the construction of „family“ are the concepts „work“ and „action“, which stand in a hierarchical position to each other: action means forms of work, which express and create Christian morality. Viktor Orbán expresses objection towards state socialism, due to its restriction of free religious practices, but he praises its (working) morals and connects them to Christianity. The components work and action are recognizable in each symbol of the speech: „ship“, „road“, „building“, „family“. In a family, work is identified with feminine connoted care-work, whereas action with the male connoted economical work.
As conclusion, it can be said that the discursive construction of the symbol family in the analyzed speeches legitimizes populist demarcation lines within and beyond the country borders. It excludes from the ‘people’ those who either do not have their own family or do not earn enough money to feed their family. It also constructs a morally legitimized hierarchy within the family, existing along the gender roles. Family serves as a legitimization of the concepts of state and nation, both of which are constructed by analogy to the symbol family. Thus, the gender related differentiation between production and reproduction is the basis of the nationalistic populist logic in Hungary.
These findings suggest a direct connection between anti-feminism and nationalism and capture the populist understanding of democracy in Hungary. This knowledge can lead to a new consciousness about feminism and populist politics that might manifest in political activities to preserve liberal democracy.

Katinka Czigány studies on the faculty of Gender Studies in the University of Vienna. Her current paper deals with the politics of her home country, Hungary. Her research interest are first of all Hungarian politics, feminist activities and possible ways of emancipation and resistance.

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