Abstract

In the prompt declarations in live television broadcasts immediately after the knowledge of the first projections on the outcome of the vote, the political leaders of the defeated and of the winners elaborate a strategy for presenting the electoral event which gives it meaning according to a scheme interpretation that follows different strategies: presentation of the defeat as a momentary phase in a long-term historical scheme (vs. turning point with no return), legitimization of oneself as unique and privileged interlocutors of the voters even when lost, involvement of the spectator in a direct personal dialogic relationship, etc. Patterns of standard rhetorical moves (and specular between losers and winners), hyper- coded rhetorical patterns of leaders’ speeches, and a rich series of rhetorical strategies and linguistic figures for persuasive or discursive purposes are identified.