Speech Cycle? “Election-defining rhetoric” in Westminster democracies

Leaders of government within Westminster democracies undertake a key rhetorical task on the day an election is called. Following a visit to the monarch or the vice-regal representative, leaders emerge to give their opening speech of the election campaign. These are moments of definition; moments when leaders rhetorically frame the battle to come. This paper argues that in Westminster democratic systems, these statements conform to a set pattern of rhetoric, which reflects the length of time the government has been in office. This pattern - or 'speech cycle' - suggests that electoral rhetoric is not governed solely by the policy issues of the day, and that some restraints apply to governments in the rhetoric they can legitimately utilise at different points in their tenure. © 2011 Australian Political Studies Association.