The political communication of polarizing leaders. Evidence from Italy

Political polarization represents one of the main worries concerning the health of contemporary democracy. In this article, we review the debate on political polarization linking its main causes to the electoral campaign process during the 2022 Italian general election. Specifically, we examine the communication strategies employed by the leaders of the victorious right-wing coalition on Facebook and Twitter, focusing on their use of partisanship, divisive issues, attacks on opponents and incivility, while also assessing the engagement of their followers. Our findings confirm the prominent role of divisive issues and partisanship, but reveal a notable decline in attack-related messages and incivility.