ABSTRACT
The Covid-19 pandemic meant challenges in crisis management for democratic institutions such as the European Union (EU). To achieve an economic and social recovery to the crisis, the EU institutions have promoted the NextGenerationEU (NGEU) program, a massive recovery package for this purpose. This action takes place at a time of strong visibility of Euroscepticism within a global phenomenon of distrust in political authorities. The present work aims to know the shaping of the European Public Sphere when NGEU is launched. First, the evolution of EU support during the pandemic is described, analyzing the possible factors that influence on this variable. On this matter, a secondary analysis of data is applied on different waves of the Eurobarometer (EB 92, 93, 94 and 95). The statistical method is also used to give items that determine the image of the EU. Moreover, the communicative dissemination of this plan is drawing upon semi-structured interviews with some of the professionals who deal with the task. The objective is to provide an overview of how the public sphere made up of citizens and institutions is defined before a moment of symbolic relevance. The results reveal a trend towards greater positivity with the EU after the pandemic. However, among other possible factors, the degree of support depends on the ideological position and, to a lesser extent, on the type of community where the citizens live. EU officials assess this rise of Europeanism as an opportunity, targeting the NGEU communication campaign especially at young people.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: The social restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic increased the role of digital technologies as tools of interaction, but also their role in the institutional communication developed by governments to explain their political decisions in a crisis. Methodology: This study examines some of the communication strategies of the governments of Germany, Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. To do this, the topics and objectives of their leaders or spokespersons on Twitter are studied: Steffen Seibert representing Merkel (Germany), Pedro Sanchez (Spain), Antonio Costa (Portugal), and Boris Johnson (United Kingdom). Likewise, the messages disseminated on the official websites of the governments (Bundesregierung, La Moncloa, Republica Portuguesa, and GOV.UK) are analyzed. Results: Results show low use of digital interaction potential. In addition, the preferred themes and objectives are repeated on Twitter and institutional webs, focusing on the announcement and evaluation of health and economic issues. However, the messages on the social network refer to a greater plurality of issues. Discussion: Based on the similarities and divergences found, we argue that a reflection on the role of political cultures in communication actions should be noted, as well as the need to respond to the interests of the audience. Conclusions: Government communication has addressed the most immediate issues of the pandemic, such as health and the economy, developing a broader agenda on Twitter that, on the other hand, did not correspond to the interests observed among the public.