Euroambivalent and Equivocal Euroscepticism: Two Shades of Strategic Ambiguity in the 2024 European Parliament elections in Hungary

This study examines the dynamics of Euroscepticism in the context of Hungary’s 2024 European Parliament elections, focusing on the discourses of two outright Eurosceptic parties – the populist right-wing Fidesz and the far-right Our Homeland Movement – and the newly formed TISZA Party, which incorporates certain Eurosceptic elements. Employing a qualitative, single-country case study approach, our analysis draws on party leaders’ speeches, manifestos, campaign statements and other public communications spanning from February 2022 to December 2024. The findings reveal that despite a predominantly pro-European public, the three selected parties espoused moderated and ambiguous Euroscepticism, which proved electorally successful, securing 19 of Hungary’s 21 European Parliament seats and over 80% of the vote. Behind this paradox, our analysis distinguishes between two elite-level strategies: Equivocal Euroscepticism, which strategically oscillate between soft and hard Euroscepticism on the integration dimension without advocating full withdrawal, and Euroambivalent Eurosceptic approach, which navigate between soft Euroscepticism and pro-EU stances on institutional design or certain policies while clearly endorse EU membership. This conceptual innovation provides a novel conceptual framework with broader relevance for comparative analyses of Euroscepticism, offering deeper insights into how domestic political contexts shape distinct party positions on European integration.