CHAPTER THREE
ARE (POLISH) POLITICIANS
OUT OF THIS WORLD?
CONCEPTUAL METAPHORS OF OUTER
SPACE IN POLITICAL DISCOURSE
EWA GIEROē-CZEPCZOR
Introduction
Media content, enfeebled forms of democracy, and ideologically extreme
voting patterns reflect a general sense of public discontent. Disgruntled
citizens, whose voice and concerns seem to be largely ignored by elected
governments, see politics as infused with vague ethical standards and
politicians as exhibiting a low degree of responsibility and shamelessly
enjoying extravagant lifestyle during times of austerity measures. These
and other indications of detachment from the concerns of their fellow
citizens receive considerable attention from all areas of the media.
Columnists, journalists and the public voice their criticisms provoked on a
daily basis by the negative public image and poor political performance of
public ‘servants’. Apart from grave allegations of corruption and an
apparent reliance on political parties for personal profit, politicians enjoy a
celebrity-like status, thus emphasizing the gap between the political class
and their constituents, which contributes to general mistrust. This form of
political detachment ranges across both domestic and foreign policy, and
also concerns a failure to engage with contemporary reality in the areas of
computer literacy and technology.
One way of expressing the shared frustration with the political class is
through metaphors in language and images which rely on the concept of
physical distance, mapping it onto the ever-widening gaps that exist in
relation to power and wealth. The imagery of outer space offers vast