Solidarity Discourse in National Parliaments: The European Crisis Hits Home!

»We carry a strong responsibility: for the future of our country, our currency and the future of Europe«. This statement of a German MP is not only typical for as to how the European financial crisis is talked about in the debates of the German Bundestag, but also the Austrian Nationalrat. Germany is the most important European crisis manager owing to its position as largest contributor to the ESM and is a strong advocate of the strict conditionalities enshrined in the Fiscal Pact. Austria on the other hand is small but economically a comparatively successful member state enjoying the lowest unemployment rates in the Eurozone. Still its political establishment is marked by strong eurosceptic parties who may nevertheless be courted by the government as potential providers of constitutional majorities. Both are creditor states to the European Rescue Mechanisms, still their economic and political situation are different. The question that drives our research is: how do members of both national parliaments that are expected to endorse the pro-European stance of their governments and to take their constituencies concerns seriously rationalize a European Rescue Discourse in the face for crises? Further we aim to reach a better understanding on how the image of debtor countries is constructed in both parliaments, also regarding their responsibilities for a common Europe. To provide a clearer picture of the different facets of the European Rescue Discourse we analyze the plenary debates (including budgetary debates and debates on European economic governance mechanisms, as well as concerning the rescue mechanisms (by using MaxQDA) of the German and Austrian parliament in the years 2010–2012. We expect to find different facets of the European Rescue Discourse, different aspects of resistance (also referring to public opinion) to European mechanisms, and different meanings attached to key terms like solidarity, responsibility and austerity.