Crisis Management Days

Comparative analysis of crisis communication of the Croatian president and prime minister during the 2020 earthquakes

Danijel Labaš

Catholic University of Croatia

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2339-6277

Ivana Jeleč Bulić

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences f the University of Zagreb

Lea Rakušić

Faculty of Croatian Studies at the University of Zagreb

Keywords: crisis communication, crisis management, infodemic, earthquake, political actors, political communication

---

Abstract

Natural disasters such as earthquakes are crisis situations in which crisis communication becomes critically important. The role of state officials is key: they must communicate clearly, empathetically, and in a timely manner, using both traditional media and social networks. This paper analyses the communication of Croatian President Zoran Milanović and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković during the Zagreb earthquake (M5.5, 22 March 2020) and the Banovina earthquake (M6.2, 29 December 2020).

The study was conducted using content analysis drawing on audiovisual recordings (interviews, statements, and press conferences on HRT, RTL, Nova TV, and N1), written sources (Večernji list, Jutarnji list, and 24sata), and posts on the official Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram profiles of both officials during the week immediately following each earthquake. The key elements examined include empathy, message clarity, confidence, encouraging rhetoric, criticism, and the use of social media as a communication channel.

President Milanović's communication was characterized by empathy and clear key messages (approximately 29% empathetic statements in both earthquakes), alongside a tendency toward criticism. Prime Minister Plenković maintained a confident style with predominantly calming and encouraging messages (52.48% and 59.57% respectively), with particular emphasis on caution in communicating information. Both officials used social media as a complement to their traditional media communication.

Viewed through the lens of the three-phase crisis management model (Coombs, 2015), both state officials were most active during the crisis phase. The '5C' model (Langford, 2009, as cited in Jugo, 2017) is evident in both strategies, though with different emphases: Milanović foregrounded concern and empathy, while Plenković projected control and competence. Both conformed to the principle of leader visibility in crisis (Fearn-Banks, 2011). The analysis also points to a possible correlation between crisis communication and political image (Dnevnik.hr, 2020), raising questions about the long-term effects of rhetorical choices in crisis management.