„Alles für Sachsen” – Poster Campaign for the 2024 State Election in Saxony

Abstract

In recent years, election campaigns have become increasingly professionalised, influenced among other things by advances in digital technologies. Although social media are playing an increasingly important role in the battle for voters, posters are still an important part of election campaigns. Through their appropriate placement in public spaces, they are able to reach a large audience, allowing political parties to inform and mobilise voters, as well as to fight for their favour by choosing specific slogans.
The year 2024 can be described as a super election year in Germany, as some of the country’s citizens were able to go to the polls up to three times – in European, municipal and Landtag elections. In particular public attention was focused on the September elections in the so-called new federal states – Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg, as their outcome could lead to the creation of entirely new constellations on the German political scene. This can be traced back to the well-supported Alternative for Germany (AfD) as well as to the newly formed Sahra Wagenknecht’s Alliance – For Reason and Justice (BSW).
This article aims to analyse what content was emphasised on election posters by the main political parties in Saxony and what communication strategies did they use. Did the slogans they present coincide with their official programme? Did the ruling parties in Saxony communicate with their voters differently than the populist groups aspiring to this role?
The author decided to analyse the campaign for the 2024 Landtag election in Saxony for several important reasons. One of them is the tense political situation in the Land, which is the result of significant and increasing social polarisation. It should also be noted that Saxony is a federal state in whose political life extremist and populist groups make their presence felt in a particular way. One of the reasons why they are gaining in importance is their efficient election campaign, including the poster’s one.
The research hypothesis will be verified that the election posters with their slogans, graphic elements and general message are plainly part of the political discourse in Saxony, whose main element is the defence of democracy.
The research hypothesis stating that the main theme of the poster campaign before the 2024 Saxon Landtag elections was the defence of democracy against the threat of right-wing extremism will also be verified.
To answer this hypothesis, the methods used are comparative and qualitative content analysis of the election posters – both on a textual and visual level. The research corpus consists in the posters presented in the Saxon capital Dresden. The starting point for the reflexion will be a discussion of theoretical issues related to the election campaign and the poster as its specific instrument. Subsequently, the socio-political situation in Saxony after the last election in 2019 and the course of this year’s election campaign will be outlined, mainly in the context of the demands made by the various parties. Finally, the election results will be presented and discussed.