The Private Life as Part of Croatian Politicians' Communication Strategies: The 2009-2010 Presidential Elections

The aims of this study are twofold. First, this research aims to detect the extent to which Croatian politicians strategically use information from the private sphere in public discourse; second, to detect the functions in which this information is used. I analyze the mediated statements in the main national daily newspapers of the two main presidential candidates in the 2009-2010 elections. I start with the premise that the macro (elements of political and media system) and micro (candidates’ personalities) contextual factors of this elections were favorable to privatization of politics. The results show that a significant extent of the public discourse was indeed privatized, but mostly due to the communication strategy of Milan Bandi . Furthermore, the results demonstrate that the information from the private sphere was not used solely for the purpose of building one’s image, but also as a strategy of attacking the opponent.