ABSTRACT
The anti-populist cultural script frames national sentiment as an outdated, dangerous, and irrational prejudice. In contemporary Western political discourse, nationalism, and its cognate terms – national attachments, national identity, national sentiments – have acquired the kind of negative qualities that usually invite moral condemnation. This chapter outlines, conflicting views about the status of national values and identity underpin the cultural tension between Hungary and the leaders of the EU. One of the criticisms mounted against Hungary is that this society has not moved with the times and is disoriented by its continued adherence to national attachments. The Europeanization of German nation state identity was relatively successful and helped to create a situation where the tension between national sovereignty and federalist authority are comparatively easily managed. Differences in attitude towards national consciousness and identity are intimately linked to the conflict between the German/EU vision of the relationship of the present to the past, and that held by Hungary.
