The aim of the article is to reconstruct the media image of Olaf Scholz’s political leadership in the period immediately preceding Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and during the war until the conference on the future of Ukraine held in Saudi arabia in Jeddah. The author used the method of content analysis, the method of systematic literature review and the method of analysis and synthesis. The image of Scholz in the “Rzeczpospolita” daily is ambivalent and reflects the so-called Realpolitik. The German chancellor has been presented as a politician who supports Ukraine basically only at the declarative level, while the media image of Germany’s real actions is inconsistent with the chancellor's verbal message. In the analyzed daily, the image of the head of the German government is that of a politician who intends to maintain business relations with Russia and return to the business-as-usual policy with the Russian Federation. Scholz is presented as a politician who does not support Ukraine in its aspirations related to membership in NATO and the European Union. The article increases the cognitive value in the area of research on the media image of Europe’s political leaders in the context of the war in Ukraine led by the Russian Federation.
PL
Celem artykułu jest rekonstrukcja medialnego obrazu przywództwa politycznego Olafa Scholza w okresie bezpośrednio poprzedzającym pełnoskalową inwazję Rosji na Ukrainę w 2022 r. oraz podczas wojny, aż do konferencji dotyczącej przyszłości Ukrainy odbywającej się w Arabii Saudyjskiej w Dżuddzie. W badaniach wykorzystano metodę analizy zawartości, metodę systematycznego przeglądu literatury oraz metodę analizy i syntezy. Wizerunek Scholza na łamach dziennika „Rzeczpospolita” jest ambiwalentny i odzwierciedlający tzw. Realpolitik. Kanclerz RFN został zaprezentowany jako polityk wspierający Ukrainę zasadniczo tylko na poziomie deklaratywnym, natomiast medialny obraz realnych działań Niemiec jest niespójny z przekazem słownym kanclerza. W analizowanym dzienniku wizerunek szefa rządu RFN jest obrazem polityka mającego zamiar podtrzymywanie biznesowych relacji z Rosją i powrót do polityki business as usual z Federacją Rosyjską. Scholz zostaje zaprezentowany jako polityk niewspierający Ukrainę w jej aspiracjach związanych z członkostwem w NATO i Unii Europejskiej. Artykuł zwiększa wartość poznawczą w obszarze badań nad medialnym obrazem przywódców politycznych Europy w kontekście prowadzonej przez Federację Rosyjską wojny w Ukrainie.
The aim of the study is to characterize the course of the election campaign, a detailed analysis of the election results and an attempt to reflect on the consequences of the outcome of the elections that took place in Germany on September 26, 2021. The author analyzes the election results with particular emphasis on the ongoing changes in the German party system. This election was unique for several reasons: 1) the chancellor in office was, for the first time, not seeking re-election so it was obvious that someone else would head the new government; 2) three parties (CDU/CSU, SPD and the Greens) nominated their candidates for chancellor; 3) the elections were highly personalized: errors and slip-ups of the leaders significantly impacted the ratings of their parties; 4) the election campaign was exceptionally dynamic (the party leading the polls changed three times), and its course was strongly influenced by unexpected events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the tragic flood in western Germany; 5) in their programs, most parties set themselves far- reaching goals related to the modernization of the German economy and the adaptation of Germany to the challenges of the climate crisis. The study confirmed the thesis that the results of the elections to the Bundestag of the 20th electoral term validated most of the tendencies within the German party system that could be observed in the 21st century. Thus, the German party system will continue to be based on the six relevant parties represented in the Bundestag (SPD, CDU/CSU, Greens, FDP, AfD and Die Linke). However, the position of extreme parties (AfD, Die Linke) weakened, resulting in a greater number of possible coalition solutions. After the elections, a progressive coalition was formed, nicknamed a “traffic lights coalition”, made up of the SPD, the Greens and the FDP with Olaf Scholz as the new chancellor.
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