The climate emergency in the 2019 Spanish electoral debates: a functional analysis of the candidates‘ discourse

Abstract

Electoral debates are unmissable events for candidates and voters in modern societies. In 2019, political leaders held a total of 5 debates in Spain. To date, environmental policy has been largely forgotten in this type of event. However, the growing concern at the social, media and political level means that there is a likelihood of them being included in the campaign. This study starts with a content analysis to identify the presence of environmental discourses in electoral debates and applies Functional Theory and Framing Theory to determine the content, form and framing used. The results showed a progressive inclusion of the climate emergency into electoral debates, described in terms of ideological confrontation and in economic terms.