Targeting Strategy

The three speeches all begin by drawing upon symbols of national identity.In all three cases，national identity serves as a means by which to target the widest possible section of supporters.Australian political rhetoric is seen as being increasingly personalistic and individually oriented.This phenomenon is best demonstrated in the 1996 Australian federal election in which the Labor Party lost government.When political discourse becomes dissociated from national identity and target groups，there is the danger that the symbols of national identity，which are bereft of any substance，become meaningless.This is why the three Australian politicians selected for this study all pay particular attention to the issue of national identity，and address it in the beginning of their respective speeches.