Messages in the Media - University of Toronto

Portuguese faith still exists in the supranational organization.
In domestic media, the EU’s crisis was increasingly
attributed to its internal workings – primarily in the areas
of leadership. At first, the Portuguese perception of this
problem was nominal, as there was hope of a turnaround
after policy implementations took effect. For example, in
February 2011, Expresso labeled the problems that leaders
were facing as “big challenges” rather than insurmountable
tasks. 23 The media’s focus remained on the EU leaders
themselves rather than the EU as an institution. Gradually,
the economic crisis received greater attention in the media
and episodes of leaders meeting to discuss the EU’s next
course of action were highlighted. Perhaps a somewhat
naïve idea, but seemingly accepted among the Portuguese
population, was that the solution to the Eurozone situation
could be found in changing the organizational structure
and governance of the EU itself. One Jornal de Noticias article
from October 4 th stated that the economic governance
of the region should be more preventative and punitive. 24
By the year’s end, the media had clearly labeled leadership
as a key contributing factor in the Eurocrisis, focusing on
statements like Sarkozy’s “deficit of leadership” as quoted
in a Diario de Noticias’ article from 3 November. 25
The Portuguese media attributed the majority of
the Eurocrisis to the organizational structure and leadership
failings, of the EU. Throughout 2011 Portugal’s faith in
the EU’s determination to help it was fairly consistent. As
early as January, there were articles stating that the EIB
wanted to help Portugal avoid a recession. 26 This element
of assistance appears throughout the year and rarely can
one find articles depicting the EU as giving up on Portugal.
Assisting Portugal was portrayed as the EU’s duty in many
articles as seen by Expresso’s September 22 nd publication
stating: “The EU will pay 4 Billion in financial obligations to
Portugal and Ireland”. 27 Note the usage of the term ‘obligations’
which exemplified the perception in Portugal of the
EU’s commitment to Portugal’s economic survival. In sum,
Portugal has approached the shortcomings of the EU with
less vitriol than expected, partly due to the fragile status of
the Portuguese economy. In a sense the message seems to
140