This document discusses the politicization and depoliticization of the European Union through discourse analysis. It finds that the EU has moved towards depoliticization, as seen in Ursula von der Leyen being elected Commission president instead of the lead Spitzenkandidaten. However, Mario Draghi's leadership of the ECB has helped re-politicize the EU. Draghi used political language and communication strategies to build consensus and legitimacy for ECB policies during the Eurozone crisis. Keywords like "accountability," "citizen," and "banking union" were emphasized to link ECB actions to citizens and political integration. The document analyzes Draghi's political rhetoric and how it influenced perceptions

1. Depoliticisation and politicisation through
the discourse analysis:
from Mario Draghi to the
Spitzenkandidaten, how re-politicise the
European Union
Elania Zito
Ph.D Student Department of Political Sciences
Sapienza University of Rome

2. Key findings
 Two tracks in the EU scenario:
 EU depoliticisation, confirmed with the last EU elections:
Ursula von der Leyen, not Spitzenkandidaten, elected as president of the
European Commission
 A new re-politicisation with the ECB Presidency
Mario Draghi’s leadership
von der Leyen Commission?
von der Leyen statement: more Europe, more democracy, Political Guidelines

3. Theoretical Framework
 Depoliticisation “as a governing strategy is the process of placing at one remove the political
character of decision-making” (Peter Burnham)
 Governmental, societal and discursive depoliticisation (Colin Hay)
 EU technocratic transformation as instrument of prevention of a new legitimacy crisis
(Wolfgang Streeck)
 Making and influencing politics from various political actors (Flinders and Buller)
 Post-democracy (Colin Crouch)
 Politicization in the EU: ECB, EU Commission and the growing bodies becoming aware of the
political importance of public perceptions of their actions (Vivien Schmidt)

4. Methodology: politolinguistic
 Armin Burkhardt defines politolinguistic (1996)
 Politolinguistic as a field of analysis between linguistic and political sciences, based on
the communicative experience
 «Political» in the communicative experience: presupposes the existence of plurality
of individuals who «make common» some forms of experience in order to reach a
common good
 Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA): texts and social processes in the istitutional and
political framework within the three categories of power, history and ideology
(Martin Reisigl)
 Politics as persuasion: language of power and language of decision (Lasswell)

5. Eurozone Framework
Crisis of legitimacy in the Eurozone area:
 European economic governance (ECOFIN, Eurogroup, ECB)
 Emptying of the political character of the european decisions made in Brussels
 ECB decisional power
 ECB new communication policy (2011)
 Mario Draghi: new european leadership

6. Mario Draghi’s political language
 Starting point theses:
 How Mario Draghi managed the Eurozone crisis? (2011 – 2016)
 26th June 2012: within our mandate, the ECB is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the
euro
 A new transparency of the ECB policy: Mario Draghi spokesman / propaganda tool
 Political communication instruments
 Political language:
 Policy: «banking union/challenge/cohesion/resilience»
 Consensus feeling: «accountability/citizen/integration»
 Rethoric figures: to strenght the attribution of words’ significance such as to keep a logic and
semantic continuity with the context.

7. Mario Draghi’s political language: charts
Accountability – a strictly politic term – follows the ECB
policies in search of a legitimacy from the citizens. The
reference to a. is associated both to economic and political
discourses (i.e. about political union and EU integration) to
gain and mantain consensus
Citizen in informal situation: there is always the intention to
create a more confident relationship between the ECB and the eu
citizens. Strong attention in the whatever it takes decision. It’s a
more stimulating communication when Mario Draghi refers
directly to citizens.

8. Mario Draghi’s political language: charts
«banking union»
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Cohesion Political Union Resilience Accountability Citizen Banking Union
Use of banking union is correspondent with the ECB
policies (i.e. with the whatever it takes of 26° july 2012)
showing the link between ECB and European banking.
Cohesion, resilience, political union are more wanted
keywords to fill the lack of confidence with the citizens
and to create and consolidate the consensus feelings.

9. Thank you for your attention