Spanish politicians as bloggers. The new formula for two-way communication and interaction between regional politicians and citizens as voters

This paper will present the outcome of a research of the use of blogs by Spanish politicians. The research shows blogs as an innovative and rich tool for political communication. Actually, blogs can facilitate two-way communication and true interaction between citizens and politicians. The article analyses in depth the content, uses, and characteristics of five weblogs written by Spanish politicians, with special attention to the regional case-study of Aragon. Although the study detects some weaknesses in the current political use of blogs, it encourages political parties to use blogs and other online resources, not only during electoral campaigns to improve the reputation of political leaders but also continuously and particularly in situations of special interest for the citizenship. The study shows that the use of blogs by politicians in Spain is no longer just a transitory phenomenon and has become a reality. The article also demonstrates that politicians use blogs mostly as a pre-electoral tool and to a much lesser extent as an element of communication to promote democracy. It has been observed that politicians’ blogs are used as a tool to overcome situations of crisis and to compensate negative opinions caused by questionable acts.