This bachelor’s thesis analyses the political discourse on the media by the Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša on Twitter during the covid-19 epidemic, which put the media, journalists, and the reflection on the state of democracy in Slovenia during the epidemic in the focus of public debate. It addresses it in the light of the theory of populist discourse which sees politics in terms of the opposition between »the people« and the »oppressive power block« which is characterized by the appeals to »ordinary people«. Such politics which are based on people’s attention, rely on social media such as Twitter to succeed. The analysis has shown that in view of the covid-19 epidemic, the Slovenian Prime Minister primarily pursues right-wing populist politics which is based on the mechanisms of anti-elitism, the spreading of fear by creating »scapegoats«, and on nationalism. Concerning the media, such politics are manifested by presenting the media to the people as being the »dangerous Others«. This kind of discourse is legitimized in the case study with emotional appeals and through the recontextualization of current developments with references to history. The thus constructed distinctions and discourse on the media are naturalized by the Prime Minister and used during the covid-19 crisis to pursue right-wing populist politics.
|
