Western Politicians in the Polish Post-War Public Discourse
Western Politicians in the Polish Post-War Public Discourse

Summary/Abstract: The aim of the article is to analyse public discourse in post-war Poland, where the images of Western politicians and their approach to Eastern countries were studied. The research assumed the hypothesis that the positive image of social democratic leaders in the Polish discourse resulted from the legitimacy needs of the authorities. The politicians Willy Brandt and Bruno Kreisky themselves played a decisive role in shaping a positive image, appreciated all over the world for the effective implementation of Ostpolitik. The qualitative method was adopted, particularly critical discourse analysis (CDA). The hypothesis concerns the relationship between the propagated images of a Western politician and the legitimacy of the communist authority. Among the images of leaders most often depicted over several decades and relating to his biographical threads, what is dominant in the Polish media coverage is that of a politician with socialist and anticommunist views. Among the most frequently presented pictures of Western politicians in the Polish public sphere, five of the most important ones are that of a socialist, an anti-communist, a partner, a statesman and an architect of Ostpolitik. Western state seeking trade contacts in the East, defining the principles of political cooperation, describing the economic conditions of countries with different systems and designating and consolidating the elements that positively characterise bilateral relations, especially those related to a common tradition and culture.

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