Open AccessFrom rock star to political star – curious case of Paweł Kukiz persona power
Author(s) -
Tomasz Olczyk,
Jacek Wasilewski
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
persona studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2205-5258
DOI - 10.21153/ps2016vol2no2art612
Subject(s) - persona , politics , presidential system , power (physics) , media studies , political science , presidential election , asset (computer security) , advertising , sociology , law , art , humanities , business , computer security , computer science , physics , quantum mechanics
The 2015 presidential election was a turning point in a history of celebritisation of politics in Poland. Rock vocalist Paweł Kukiz unexpectedly finished third with 20% of votes, the highest result of any celebrity–candidate in presidential elections. He achieved that, campaigning mostly on Facebook, without any significant power base and financial support. Kukiz set up his own political organisation, which gained a 9% backing in the parliamentary elections. He achieved that with no political platform, no media backing, and no party structure. We argue that his persona was a crucial asset in his political success. We will show how Kukiz created, managed and performed his persona, how he used it to mobilise three million voters and then to create and brand his “Kukiz’15 Movement.” Finally, we analyse limits, traps and contradictions of persona power. Analysed material includes Paweł Kukiz’s and his opponents’ Facebook posts, televised political advertisements, performances in celebrity TV shows and debates.