Multimodal manifestations of (mainstream) populism as political style

Abstract

Building on previous research (Kantara 2020, Kantara 2022) on the interactional manifestations of (mainstream) populism as political style (Snow and Moffit 2012, Moffit and Tormey 2014), this article examines how politicians’ interactional manifestations of populism are strengthened through visual modes, and the role journalists play in the process. In doing so, the article  contributes to current discussions on the fluidity of populism (Mazzoleni 2024) and the role media play in constructing a political party as ‘mainstream’ (Moffitt 2022). 

Data are  drawn from televised election campaign interviews during the 2012 Greek pre-election period,  involving leading journalists and the key players of the period: the party leaders of the two dominant parties in Greek politics from 1974 till 2012 (Conservatives, Socialists) and Alexis Tsipras, a new significant player in Greek politics at that time. The data is qualitatively analyzed from a conversation analytic and multimodal interactional perspective.