DEN GREKISKA SOMMAREN 2015 - Hur två europeiska dagstidningar återgav Greklands kamp för att få behålla euron

Abstract

During the summer of 2015, there were debates about Greece’s struggle to remain with the euro as its currency. This thesis will examine the representation of the debate of this problem in two European daily newspapers: Helsingin Sanomat (FIN) and The Irish Times (IRL). The focus of this thesis is to analyze the discourse in articles in these two newspapers using Bacchi’s discourse analytic tool “What is the problem represented to be”. The views expressed in the articles in these two newspapers differs when it comes to representing Greece’s struggle to remain within the Eurozone. The main view expressed in the articles in Helsingin Sanomat portrays the problem as that the Greeks have behaved dishonestly and now wanting the other euro-countries to share the bill for overspending and mismanagement. The view was ultimately to save the euro, not necessarily to help Greece. On the other hand, the views expressed in the articles in The Irish Times show much more of an understanding of the complexity of the problem, arguing that the challenge is as much the governance of a suboptimal currency system, as the Greek old fashioned and wasteful way of managing its economy.