Marketing politics: New communication strategies and party leadership. A case of a radical right party

Polls, electoral results, party membership and other sources of evidence establish that there has been a rise in support of the radical right parties in a vast selection of European countries. “The People''s Orthodox Rally”, the right-wing populist and Christian political party of Greece and its leader Georgios Karatzaferis constitute my focal interest. In this paper I will analyse the political marketing of TPOR and its media representation as a strategy of attraction of the electorate body of Greece. One of my aims is to bridge the gap of the Greek case, which has been underrepresented in literature. At first, this paper analyses the engagement of parties’ new communication strategies. In addition, it reviews Mr. Karatzaferis leader profile and his impact on the motivation of the electorate in favour of supporting the party. Although ideology is critical for the characterisation of parties, I focus on political marketing, bearing in mind that it is echoed in several stages of the decision making process within party structures and influences policies, campaign strategies, and even party leadership. Radical right parties often project marketing and branding strategies through mass media and regularly promote the communicative effect of charismatic leadership. My research on TPOR media representation and Mr Karatzaferis’ image add up to the existing literature, which analyses the significance of radical right parties and their communication strategies in order to perceive the ways they transform and impact the electorate body.