Discursos de élites y el comportamiento político de la ciudadanía en el Referendo Español del 20 de Febrero en torno a la ratificación de la Constitución Europea. ¿Tuvo importancia la campaña?

Abstract

The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between elite discourse and voters’ behavior. We’ll examine how and if it’s true the existence of a mutual connection between elitist discourses of politic parties and those of Spanish media. The discourse analyzed is about the promotion of vote in favour during the February 20 th, 2005 Referendum in Spain for the approbation of European Union’s Constitution. We’ll also study if this mutual connection could exert influence the behavior of voter citizenship. Through a theoretical framework we’ll try to better understand elite discourses’ power and their possibility of influencing public opinion, and also to comprehend the media framework.

Also an evaluation is made about the volatility of the Referendum; an analysis of the media frameworks used during the campaign; and a comparison between politic parties and press media discourses, for establishing a connection between ideas and messages. Finally, we present our own analysis and conclusions, trying to clarify if the campaign "Voto a favor" had any importance related to the final results.