First of all, I would like to briefly introduce the concept of political communication: by political communication we mean all those activities carried out by a political actor with the function of obtaining consensus.
The political message is multidimensional and contains a set of information that is not exhausted in the message itself.
Before the advent of social networks, politics was communicated only through traditional media, such as television , newspapers and radio which reported statements and press releases from political candidates.
Now everything has changed
Disintermediation has become the central point of political communication, any candidate can express an idea, a message or a thought without particular problems by communicating directly with the citizen voter or the person to whom the message is addressed, all this thanks to social networks.
Another change that has occurred with digitalization is the transition in the type of electoral campaign , previously it was limited to a few weeks before the political elections, now it is extended throughout the entire legislature , delegitimizing politics in the strict sense and causing at least a partial distancing of citizens who believe less and less in politicians, identifying them more and more as an image created by the media system.
Personalization and spectacularization
At this point it is impossible not to talk about the personalization and spectacularization that is increasingly changing the way of doing politics and the way of representing it.
What do we mean by personalization and spectacularization ? They are two phenomena that have gone hand in hand with the spread of the media and technological development, they have shaped themselves in different ways throughout history bringing strong changes in the development of politics.
With the help of Antonio Palmieri, an expert in political communication but also a member of the Italian parliament, we can state that: “ The web is the place par excellence of relationship and direct rapport, it is by its very nature the ideal setting for PERSONALIZATION , it is the best place, communicatively speaking, where you can talk about yourself with continuity and at the same time with variety (texts, photos, videos and info-graphics), enhance the points of your program, react communicatively to daily political events. It goes without saying that you can do all this if you are “consistent”, because to communicate you need something to say. Politics is communication and communication is politics. If you don’t communicate, your opponents will do it for you, online and offline .”
By SPECTACULARIZATION of politics we mean that phenomenon in which political communication adapts to the culture of television and its programmes, arriving at a linguistic simplification and concentrating above all on the image factor and therefore on the spectacular rather than on the content of politics.
The Case of Matteo Salvini
Let's now move on to a concrete analysis of the type of communication used by the most media-friendly political leader of the moment, namely MATTEO SALVINI .
Who is Matteo Salvini? Born in March 1973 in Milan to a simple family, a housewife mother and a manager father, he graduated from the Classical High School and subsequently enrolled at university (first in the faculty of political science and then in literature) without ever graduating, stopping 5 exams from graduation after about 16 years.
Matteo Salvini joined the Northern League in 1990 but had “slightly” different ideas from those of the party, in fact in 1997 he joined the Padanian Communist Movement , revealing in 2014 on a La7 program that he had attended a social center between the ages of 16 and 19. He became secretary of the League in September 2013 where he began to revolutionize the party's interior, changing long-standing ideas and even the name of the party, from LEGA NORD to LEGA – SALVINI PREMIER.
Let's now move on to the communication that is made on Matteo Salvini's accounts.
Who writes and publishes on the social media of the Lega leader? Many will think that Salvini himself publishes posts, tweets and creates content on his social networks, but this is not the case.
So who is behind Matteo Salvini's communication? Luca Morisi .
These days we often hear about this infamous Morisi, but who is he? He is his personal spin doctor , that is, a professional who is the head of a team that deals with the communication of a public figure both online and offline , he acts so that the media focuses on a portion of reality , he tries to make citizens perceive that his client is the best (politician, in this case) around.
Salvini is the political leader with the most presence on social networks in Europe
What are the communication strategies used on Matteo Salvini's accounts?
Salvini is the political leader most present on social networks in Europe , with posts and videos published on average every two hours, making him the most media-driven politician of the moment.
Analyzing the phenomenon of Matteo Salvini and his communication allows us to understand how political communication is evolving:
Tone of voice : The leader of the Northern League uses simple and immediate language , understandable even by children and the elderly, usually using " bar language" so to speak, reporting simplified data and statistics to obtain immediate understanding from the citizen.
Empathy : he often and willingly uses a language that makes anyone who reads or listens perceive closeness , his posts and his sentences often refer to a sovereignist dimension such as the slogan "Italians first".
Creating the enemy : global problems such as immigration are recontextualized by thinking only about the effects they could have in Italy.
Often, communication is used that is aimed at giving the impression of being spontaneous and sometimes badly associated with sincerity.
Decision-making communication , makes one feel like the guarantor of the decisions taken, he is a serious leader but capable of using irony
Slogans, phrases, impactful, newsworthy and provocative announcements are uttered daily and are consequently reported by journalists, always making people talk about them.
To appear more and more similar to the citizens, Salvini often shows himself among the people or depicted on social media with sweatshirts or t-shirts while carrying out activities as a simple citizen.
Facebook Live : One of the peculiarities that most characterizes the leader of the Northern League is that of remaining in contact as much as possible with his fans on social networks through Facebook Live, making his communication totally disintermediated.
The “ call to action ” technique is often used, an instruction for one's fans aimed at eliciting an immediate response , such as inviting them to comment or share content.
All these techniques used by social networks have only one goal: to occupy the news cycle , to ensure that the media and political opponents comment and chase his every gesture or statement.
I would like to conclude this short article by quoting Luca Morisi's words: " The Internet alone is not enough. Digital is free, an email is free, but physical presence among people has a cost and Salvini has always combined it with the use of the Internet. But not only that. The risk, perhaps, is that politicians forget that they are institutional first, and social then ."
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