FACETS OF THE INDIRECT ATTACK IN THE FIRST TELEVISED ELECTION DEBATE KLAUS IOHANNIS - VICTOR PONTA
FACETS OF THE INDIRECT ATTACK IN THE FIRST TELEVISED ELECTION DEBATE KLAUS IOHANNIS - VICTOR PONTA

Summary/Abstract: Without any political bias whatsoever, the present article analyses a recent Romanian election debate, that between the incumbent President, Klaus Iohannis, and his opponent at the time, Victor Ponta, with a view to winning the 2014 presidential elections.The analysis looks into a strategy that frequently appears in political communication, the indirect attack, which has the advantage of conveying a strong message without putting the speaker at risk.Out of the multiple facets that the indirect attack may present, the paper focuses on irony, questions, as well as the apparently neutral assumptions that both speakers make about themselves and the opponent, in order either to assert themselves and gain legitimacy, or to undermine the interlocutor's position. These strategies are used repeatedly by both participants in an attempt to make the antagonist appear unprepared, opportunistic, unreliable and corrupt in the eyes of potential electors.

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