Gianpietro Mazzoleni La comunicazione politica Chapter 6 Political Actors Gianpietro Mazzoleni La comunicazione politica Chapter 6

Who are “political actors”? Partisan actors: parties and party leaders, candidates, interest groups Institutional actors: government, parliament, judiciary

The US presidential government

Presidents in presidential systems The powers of the US president are limited by the Congress, especially in the periods of “divided government” In order to overcome the Congress’ control, the president may “go public” by using rhetorical tools Three strategies are available Manipulation Media management Narrative

The French semi-presidential government

Presidents in semi-presidential systems Operating in Europe, these presidents make use of an extended public media system

Governments Public communication: official reports by government’s specialized departments Political communication: it is directed towards media, coalition partners and opposition parties

Governments’ political communication Available strategies Media management Information management Image management This strategies are embedded with Proximity, in Mediterranean democracies Spin, in Anglo-Saxon democracies

Parliaments Institutional communication: press conference, briefings, official reports Informal communication: rumors receivable only by journalists, sharing with the MPs a relationship of brotherhood

Parliaments and television Since some years, televisions make live coverage of the parliaments: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFPtUulyj-k

Parties and political movements Traditional parties: both interparty and intraparty communication are today reported by the media rather than by partisan and parliamentarian channels Forza Italia: birth of the medial-personal party Five Star Movement: birth of the on line party

Judiciary Everywhere a three-way relationship politics-judiciary-media exists In Italy the judiciary prevailed in the 1990s

Terrorism Declarative terrorism: violence is simultaneously combined with a related explanation PS terrorism: violence is followed by an explanation afterwards Hermeneutic terrorism: no declaration follows the violent action