Говори Милана Стојадиновића на парламентарним изборима 1938. године
Speeches of Milan Stojadinović During the Parliamentary Election Campaign in 1938

Author(s): Bojan V. Simić
Subject(s): Governance, Political history, Politics and communication, Politics and society, Interwar Period (1920 - 1939), Rhetoric
Published by: Institut za noviju istoriju Srbije
Keywords: Kingdom of Yugoslavia; oratory of Milan Stojadinovic; Parliamentary election campaign; propaganda;
Summary/Abstract: The paper analyzes the oratory of the Prime Minister of the Government of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Milan Stojadinović during the parliamentary election campaign in 1938. During the campaign Stojadinović held speeches at nine large rallies. In most of them certain composition can be detected. The first part comprized praises of the people and the area where the rally was being held. The second part explained what the situation in the country had been at the time the Stojadinović government took over. The third part presented the results of the government’s policies, the fourth was the critique of the opposition. The final part contained a call to vote for the Stojadinović ticket, seasoned with new promises. The speeches were attuned to the audience and were full of demagogy, but also of cleverly used phrases and popular proverbs. The length of certain parts of speeches depended on the proximity of the elections. Thus the critique of the opposition, which originally comprized smaller part of the talks, became the central part of speeches at the last rallies. The topics about which the Prime Minister spoke were constantly brought up to date with the current situation in the country and in the world. Milan Stojadinović possessed considerable gift of oratory but it could not ensure his staying in power under the difficult political and economic conditions prevailing in the then Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

• Details
• Contents