Qualitative Content Analysis of Populist Parliamentary Rhetoric in Bulgaria

Abstract: The article presents a qualitative content analysis of the populist parliamentary rhetoric of Kostadin Kostadinov, leader of the “Revival” political party, and examines parliamentary speeches of Volen Siderov, leader of the “Ataka” party since 2005, with regard to the subject matter. The 13 speeches of Kostadinov studied include all opening statements on behalf of the party’s parliamentary group, read and delivered at the opening of the sessions of the National Assembly in the legislations in which the party has received political representation, as well as closing speeches at the closing of a legislature, when available. A pre-developed system of indicators of populism was used. A special emphasis is placed on the opposition between “the people” and “the elite”, through which Kostadinov recognizes the image of the enemy of “the people” in the face of “the elite”, rejects the existing institutional constraints and enters into an open clash with the national and international elites, blaming them for the state to which they have driven “the people”. The aim in this study is to trace the relationship between the negation of “the elite” and the confrontation between “the people” and the “elite”. The hypothesis is that through parliamentary speeches the speaker achieves positioning, recognition, and affirmation in the party system by speaking on these issues as well as on current developments in society. Keywords: populism, populist parliamentary rhetoric, qualitative content analysis, elite, people.