Homeland in Pablo Iglesias’s political discourse: How metaphorical language contributes to the shaping of constructive patriotism

Abstract

Since the War of Independence in 1808, the notion of patriotism in Spain has been mostly related to nationalistic ideologies. The emergence and repercussion of the relatively new political party ‘Podemos’ has triggered the reconsideration of the concept of patriotism and what it means to be a patriot nowadays. Through the discourse of its members, this political party has tackled the issue in a novel way for the Spanish socio-cultural context, adopting a position where social and popular values are emphasised. In this regard, the analysis of Pablo Iglesias’s (Podemos’s leader) discourse sheds light on how the idea of constructive patriotism is evoked and shaped by virtue of using metaphorical language when addressing patriotic issues. Finally, we conclude that his discourse endorses most theoretical accounts proposed in the literature. However, the analysis allows for the revision of the features identified as characteristic of this kind of patriotism in previous approaches.