Image Restoration Theory: Analysis of Polish Deputy Prime Minister’s Tweets in Response to Postponed Polish Presidential Election in 2020

International Journal of Communication and Media Science

© 2021 by SSRG - IJCMS Journal

Volume 8 Issue 1

Year of Publication : 2021

Authors : Joanna Kurnal

10.14445/2349641X/IJCMS-V8I1P104

How to Cite?

Joanna Kurnal, "Image Restoration Theory: Analysis of Polish Deputy Prime Minister’s Tweets in Response to Postponed Polish Presidential Election in 2020," SSRG International Journal of Communication and Media Science, vol. 8,  no. 1, pp. 15-27, 2021. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/2349641X/IJCMS-V8I1P104

Abstract:

Following Covid-19 pandemic emergence in 2020, the Polish presidential election was about to be either postponed and rescheduled to the latter date or organized remotely via postal voting. At that time, the Deputy Prime Minister of Poland and Minister for State Assets, Jacek Sasin, has famously decided to allocate 70 mln PLN to move forward with organizing the election on the initial date of 10th of May 2020, which in the end, did not take place. The incident was widely covered across the Polish press, social media, and news. Minister Jacek Sasin has become the subject of public outcry, online mockery, critical comments from the opposition politicians, derogatory press coverage; however, he has retained his political functions. The study objective is to analyze the image repair strategies that Minister Sasin has adapted in his tweets, and to assess the effectiveness of these strategies. The study revealed that Minister Sasin had used the following image repair strategies: evasion of responsibility, reducing offensiveness and, denial. The effectiveness of employed strategies was assessed as unsuccessful. More research is needed towards assessing image repair strategies on the Polish political scene.

Keywords:

Crisis, image repair theory, reputation, Twitter

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