Are European Political Parties contributing to the formation of the European public sphere during the EPE 2024?
P2-S35-4
Presented by: Javier Lorenzo-Rodriguez
The failure to create a European public sphere that shapes shared values and strengthens the construction of Europe's identity is a long-debated issue. In these times of maximum polarisation and illiberal exclamations among some parties and their candidates, the constitution of such a public sphere and the role of European political parties become even more critical. Moreover, the rise of Radical Right Parties and the tension created among their European Political Groups peaked in the last elections. With an original database that collects the social media activity of the leading European political groups, the national parties that make them up and the candidates who ran in the last elections to the European Parliament in 2024, the aim is to demonstrate to what extent these formations can set a common agenda in the discourse of the campaigns, or it is the scenarios of the national competition that set the tone.
Keywords: European Elections, electoral campaigns, big data, text analysis