A right-wing extremist or people’s protector? Media coverage of extreme right leader Marian Kotleba in 2013 regional elections in Slovakia

Abstract

The paper focuses on the coverage of the extreme right leader Marian Kotleba in the media during the 2013 regional elections in Slovakia. It examines how the media shaped the discourse regarding Kotleba in a six-week period, covering time both before and after the elections. Applying the frame analysis, it identifies ten issue-specific frames that problematize Kotleba in relation to either his general political actions or the regional elections and analyses 359 articles, leading to 1095 claims made by various sources. The findings show that the extreme right politician was mainly framed in terms of extremist threat and the failure of authorities. However, although the prevalent framing in the media may be perceived as negative, the media attention for the leader radically increased after the elections’ first round, making Kotleba highly salient in the public debate, and counter-frames appealing to effective side of politician’s candidacy can be observed. The paper contributes to the literature on the media representation of the extreme right in Central and Eastern Europe.