The influence of foreign elite rhetoric: National identity, emotions, and attitudes toward austerity
| DOI | 10.1177/1465116520966653 |
| Published date | 01 March 2021 |
| Author | Alessandro Del Ponte |
| Date | 01 March 2021 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
The influence of foreign
elite rhetoric: National
identity, emotions, and
attitudes toward
austerity
Alessandro Del Ponte
Global Asia Institute, National University of Singapore,
Singapore
Abstract
How does foreign elite rhetoric affect citizens’ emotions and attitudes about austerity?
In a survey experiment conducted on the online blogs of the two major Italian news-
papers, participants read a fictional news article where the German Chancellor
addressed Italians. Across treatments, I varied whether the message blamed or praised
Italians, and whether the message focused on economic or symbolic concerns. Praise
generated enthusiasm whereas blame spurred anger and anxiety. Moreover, respond-
ents with a strong national or European identity who read a message of praise were
more enthusiastic, less angry, and less opposed to austerity. Finally, people who identify
strongly with the nation reacted more to economic messages whereas those who
identify strongly with Europe reacted more to symbolic messages. The results suggest
that rhetoric by a prominent European leader can influence citizens’ emotions and
attitudes toward austerity in the emerging European public sphere.
Keywords
Austerity, elite rhetoric, emotions, national identity, survey experiment
Corresponding author:
Alessandro Del Ponte, Global Asia Institute, National University of Singapore, 10 Lower Kent Ridge Road
119076, Singapore.
Email: alessandro.delponte@nus.edu.sg
European Union Politics
2021, Vol. 22(1) 155–178
!The Author(s) 2020
Article reuse guidelines:
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DOI: 10.1177/1465116520966653
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Introduction
‘Federalize their wallets and their hearts and minds will follow’ preached European
Union (EU) founding father Jean Monnet, quoting James Madison as he indicated
the path to achieve European integration (Kochenov, 2013). Two decades after
the introduction of the Euro, runaway fiscal deficits continue to be a point of
contention that creates resentment between northern and southern Europeans.
The consequences of this dispute are especially tangible in southern Europe,
where citizens engaged in mass protests (Ru
¨dig and Karyotis, 2014), ousted gov-
ernments who support austerity (Vasilopoulou et al., 2014), and sometimes
replaced them with populist politicians who capitalize on the electorate’s anger
(Norris and Inglehart, 2019). The backlash against austerity and the EU is often
fueled by media coverage and how austerity is framed in political rhetoric (Barnes
and Hicks, 2018). Thus, it is vital to understand how political rhetoric affects the
public’s emotions and views about austerity.
In this article I argue that foreign rhetoric about other European nations can
influence citizens’ emotions and attitudes toward austerity. Specifically, I contend
that citizens’ reaction depends on the strength of citizens’ attachment to the nation
and Europe and on whether the message conveys a sense of threat to the nation or
emphasizes a sense of commonality with Europe.
Here, I propose that the interplay between rhetoric by foreign elites and nation-
al identities underlies the rift among Europeans centered on austerity. Drawing on
social identity theory, I propose that the hostility of the European publics toward
austerity can be reduced if elites from fiscally ‘virtuous’ countries in the north
speak to southern Europeans emphasizing a sense of commonality (cf. Dyson,
2014). To test these ideas, I use a survey experiment on the online blogs of the
two major Italian newspapers. I study how rhetoric by German Chancellor Angela
Merkel in a fictional news article affects readers’ self-reported emotions and oppo-
sition to austerity.
I chose to focus on Italy as it is the largest economy in the Eurozone that has
been hit by the sovereign debt crisis; and Merkel as she has been the most long-
standing and influential elected leader in the Eurozone crisis. Thus, understanding
how Italian public opinion reacts to rhetoric by Merkel has key political implica-
tions for EU politics. Focusing on a sample of blog readers of the prime Italian
newspapers offers the unique opportunity to see the effect of foreign elite rhetoric
on an influential segment of the electorate: the politically sophisticated, engaged,
and financially well-off. The study also provides a test of how a foreign leader may
affect the emotions and attitudes of voters that are likely to be exposed to similar
messages because they often read online news.
I find that participants reacted to Merkel’s messages of praise to Italy with
enthusiasm whereas they reported feeling angry and anxious in response to
blame. Moreover, respondents with a stronger national or European identity
who read a message of praise were more enthusiastic, less angry, and less opposed
to austerity. Specifically, people who identify strongly with the nation reacted more
156 European Union Politics 22(1)
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