Rage to Reach: Anger As a Political Resource for Newcomer Parties

Abstract

This study investigates the strategic use of anger in social media communication during the 2019 and 2024 European Parliamentary elections in Germany and Hungary. Since anger is typically located in the quadrant of emotions where high arousal intersects with negative valence, we argue that anger manifestations help counterbalance the resource limitations of newcomer parties to capture voters’ attention on Facebook. Using refined XLM-RoBERTa models, this study compares content from newcomer and established parties and politicians. We assess whether newcomers utilise anger more frequently, especially as election days approach, and whether Hungarian parties exhibit greater anger than their German counterparts. We also explore whether anger generates more engagement and serves as a digital equaliser. Results show that newcomer parties initially leverage anger to boost engagement, especially in the polarised Hungarian context, though this effect diminishes over time, suggesting that the gap between parties in the use of anger-related campaign messages narrows.

Keywords

Anger, Emotions, Political Resource, Facebook Posts, Hungary, Germany, European Parliamentary Campaigns