parliamentary elections

Against the background of the increasingly common opinions about the blurring of the classic division between left and right in politics, in the election campaign the leading Bulgarian parties presented platforms that are largely close to the so-called “left-right consensus”. Both established and emerging political actors have been influenced by strong populist projections, turning the election campaign into confronting impossibilities. The big question is whether this consensus is another sign of the end of the traditional left-right dichotomy or it is another disease of the political systems, which can be overcome precisely by returning to this sustainable division.

The article examines and theorizes some current techniques and tools for persuasive impact in virtual space during the election campaign of the regular parliamentary elections in April 2021 and the extraordinary ones held in July of the same year. The tools “live stream”, “sponsored publication”, “remarketing function” are theoretically differentiated and practically analyzed. The possibilities and the application in the Bulgarian political sphere of the most up-to-date platform for editing and sharing short videos - Tik Tok are presented. Sustainable argumentative means that dominate the virtual environment are sought. The article is part of the project “Techniques and tools for persuasion in online communication” under the program “Young Scientists and Post-Doctoral Students”, funded by the Research Fund at the Faculty of Philosophy of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Sofia.