Intertextuality of Political Discourse in Germany (on the Example of “Political Ash Wedfnesday”)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the role of intertext in public speeches of politicians of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria within the framework of the “political ash Wednesday”. On the example of the speeches of M. Söder, A. Scheuer and M. Blume in 2018, the relationship between the type of intertext and its pretext, on the one hand, and the speaker’s intention, on the other, was analyzed. As a result of the analysis of 23 intertextual inclusions, four intentions were revealed, among which (48 %) criticism of political opponents (SDPG, “The Greens”, AfD, “Free Voters”) prevails. Quotes from representatives of these parties, political slogans, a paraphrase of the name of the eco-movement and a quote from an artist are used to express it. As the intertextual analysis showed, to verbalize the second intention (appeal to authoritative opinion and emphasize the continuity of the party course), the former chairman of the CSU F. J. Strauss is cited, while the third intention (opposing Bavaria to the rest of Germany) is implemented using a quote from the Bavarian anthem, a paraphrase of a television commercial and quotations from a literary work. In addition, the authors found that the fourth intention (emphasizing the dialogic nature of communication with ordinary people) is found only in M. Söder’s speech in the form of a retelling of his dialogues with ordinary citizens.