Democracies Under Pressure in Pandemic Times: The Relationship Between State of Emergency and Rule of Law in Angela Merkel and Victor Orbán’s Political Communication

The chapter examines the communication strategies adopted by institutional and populist leaders during the first wave of Covid-19. By comparatively analyzing official speeches delivered between March and June 2020 by Angela Merkel and Victor Orbán, the study identifies the leadership styles of two European heads of government who represent the populist/anti-populist cleavage. The contrast in the narrative strategies employed by the German Chancellor and the Hungarian Prime Minister reveals their respective approaches to the issue of the rule of law. Angela Merkel's leadership style is characterized by her institutional, pro-European, and femininely-informed approach, while Victor Orbán's approach is macho, populist, and anti-European. The analysis examines how these two contrasting political narratives have framed the relationship between the emergency government and the democratic structures. Taking into account three variables—the relationship between the state of emergency and the rule of law; the relationship between European institutions and national governments; the relationship between the government and other local political actors—the chapter reveals the different conceptions of liberal democracy adopted by the two leaders in the face of the pandemic: a weak political model to be overcome in Orbán's discourse, a resilient system to be preserved in Merkel's narrative.