Argumentation and Interaction in the Brochures of the Swiss Federal Council about the Popular Elections

During popular elections in Switzerland, the Federal Council announces the governmental position by means of brochures that are sent to all citizens. These brochures are characterized by a tight correlation between argumentation and interaction at two levels: the interdiscursive and the interlocutive. The aim of this paper is to show, on the basis of representative brochures, how the argumentative strategies used by the Federal Council affect this correlation. In the brochures proposing a referendum project, for instance, we notice a limited interaction due to their rational argumentation and their tendency to focus on the point of view of the Federal Council. However, in the brochures supporting or rejecting the popular initiatives, we observe a rise in interactive procedures. These procedures can be convergent or divergent, and they are associated with different argumentative strategies that go from "overbid" to polemic. All in all, a study of these governmental brochures confirms that the analysis of political discourse is enhanced by the so-called "dialogical" models (Plantin 2005) of argumentation.