The use of online repertoires of action by political parties in European context: the Vlaams Belang's support for Poland and Hungary as a tool for domestic policy

The Vlaams Belang (VB, Flemish Interest) is a very digital-oriented populist radical right party. It is a nationalist, anti-elite, people-centrist and out-group-targeted party. It uses a broad repertoire of actions, made of diverse media platforms – including a mobile app. What explains the choice of these strategies is however understudied. The party’s positioning in the political system, its ideology, organization, as well as routines and habits are all possible explanations for the party strategies. This article proposes to focus on ideology and context as explanations for specific actions, by looking at how the VB supported Poland and Hungary in their tumultuous relationships with other EU member states and institutions – notably in the aftermath of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal’s ruling that the European Court of justice had no role in the country’s reforms, in October of 2021. By looking at what platforms, what tools, and what framing, are used, I will show how the nationalist ideology and anti-EU sentiment are used as bases for action, and how the theme – being an international one – triggers specific action repertoires. I will show how action is linked to the national political agenda, especially on migration – with the recent launch of the VB’s new campaign on migration “Fort Europa”, the content of which is typical of radical right populism. This paper is based on a content analysis of posts/shares by the VB and its leaders on social media, as well as on their articles on the VB website and app that refer to Viktor Orban, Fidesz or Hungary; and those that refer to Jarosław Kaczyński, PiS and Poland. It will allow to offer an action-based case study of the way populist parties can support each other transnationally, while explaining the type of online tools a populist radical right party uses.