Patterns of Emotional Displays in Campaign Messages during the 2019 European Parliamentary Election in Lithuania

Viktor Denisenko,Kiryl Kascian

doi:10.17356/ieejsp.v6i2.657

Viktor Denisenko, Kiryl Kascian

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.17356/ieejsp.v6i2.657

Copy DOI

Abstract

The 2019 European Parliament (EP) election in Lithuania was a second-order event significantly affected by domestic political developments and agendas. As with all previous EP elections, it attracted a minimal level of public attention in Lithuania, creating challenges and opportunities for Lithuanian political groups to effectively reach their electorates. This article focuses on the emotional display patterns of the campaign messages of political parties during the 2019 European Parliamentary campaign in Lithuania. To this end, it applies Lasswell’s model of commu-nication to assess printed media- and social-network-based campaign materials. Findings confirm that emotional messages dominated the communication of the political groups to their voters, and show the extremely broad spectrum of political messages that were used to arouse emotions. The study indicates that the concept of Europe remains distant and abstract to voters in Lithuania. Politicians’ messages to voters overwhelmingly appealed to the European context when addressing domestic agendas, thereby exploiting the emotional aspects of domestic political discourses in Lithuania and the perception of the EU in the country. Finally, the study demonstrates that the personification of political strategies involving politicians’ charisma, public image, and expressivity were key elements in terms of the election outcome.

Highlights

This article analyses the emotional display patterns of the campaign messages and general strategies used by political groups in their campaigns during the election to the 2019 European Parliament in Lithuania and, to this end, explores three hypotheses
The 2019 European Parliament election in Lithuania can be viewed as a specific type of political campaign
As with any other election, the 2019 European Parliament election was closely linked with emotional factors that had an impact on the behavior of politicians and political groups during the campaign, as they demonstrated strategies typically used to attract the attention of potential voters and gain their support

Summary

Introduction

This article analyses the emotional display patterns of the campaign messages and general strategies used by political groups in their campaigns during the election to the 2019 European Parliament in Lithuania and, to this end, explores three hypotheses. The 2019 European Parliament electoral campaign in Lithuania involved 301 candidates representing 16 different political groups, including ten political parties, five electoral committees, and one coalition.. Rinkimai į Europos Parlamentą: Balsavimo rezultatai Lietuvoje (European Parliament election of 13 June 2004: Voting results in Lithuania). Final election results: List of the elected MEPs) (2009) Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Lithuania. Rinkimai į Europos Parlamentą: Išrinkti Europos Parlamento nariai (European Parliament election of 26 May 2019: Elected MEPs) (2019) Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Lithuania. Rinkimai į Europos Parlamentą: Kandidatų į Europos Parlamento narius sąrašai (European Parliament election of 26 May 2019: Lists of the MEP candidates). Rinkimai į Europos Parlamentą: Balsavimo rezultatai Lietuvoje (European Parliament election of 26 May 2019: Voting results in Lithuania).

Data selection and research model

Emotional displays in campaign messages

Agendas addressed by political groups

11 Source

Findings

Conclusions