Did COVID-19 change the political communication of polarizing leaders?
The case of Salvini’s campaigning before and after the pandemic
Additional information
Authors
Bitonti A.,
Marchetti R.,
Mariotti C.
Type
Journal Article
Year
2022
Language
English
Abstract
In recent years, political polarization saw a significant rise in many political systems. This revamped a scientific debate sparked decades ago, with different schools of thought debating on dynamics, factors, and causes of polarization itself. By looking at political elites’ polarizing strategy—one of the factors on which various theories seem to converge—this article tackles the question concerning the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of political communication. More specifically, we look at the case of a highly polarizing leader in Italy—Matteo Salvini, leader of Lega—in two campaigns held in2020 before and after the first wave of the pandemic. By analyzing his messages on Facebook and Twitter, we build on the literature on the causes of affective polarization to study Salvini’s use of partisan identity and divisive issues, also considering other crucial elements, such as the attacks against others, and followers’ engagement. The results highlight some changes between the two phases, but also a strong continuity in the polarizing strategy of Salvini’s political communication.
Keywords
Political communication, Polarization, Campaigning, COVID-19 pandemic, Lega
Journal
European Journal of Communication
Volume
38
Number ( Month )
4
Pages (or article number)
380–397
Diffusion
License
CC BY
Visibility
Public
Status open access
Hybrid
