Elections and referenda during the crisis period in Greece: an analysis of international officials’ statements in the Greek media

Abstract

Drawing heavily on the various approaches focused on political elites, the current paper seeks to explore the statements of international political officials regarding the function of the Greek state, e.g. the legislative procedures, elections, referenda and functions of the Greek government, as transmitted by mainstream Greek media. Our quantitative content analysis demonstrates a rather significant intervention on behalf of international – predominantly European – elites to fundamental functions of the Greek state through their statements, seeking to promote the implementation of the internationally planned and accepted fiscal consolidation programmes for Greece and a critique predominantly towards the different Greek governments.