Can a leader be our neighbor? Political authority and mediated intimacy in the algorithmic age

Bibliographic Data

ID17827448
AuthorsLourenço Silva Ferreira (0009-0004-8369-0998, Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra, corresponding author)
Year2026
Pages1-17
Publication date2026-04-26
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEuropean Politics and Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2374-5126 • E-ISSN: 2374-5118
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/23745118.2026.2662957
OpenAlexW7156074453
LanguageEN
References cited29

This article examines the contemporary transformation of political leadership in European democracies, arguing that democratic legitimacy is being reconfigured under conditions of algorithmic visibility. Drawing on a Sennettian framework and based on a comparative analysis of Instagram posts by Emmanuel Macron, Giorgia Meloni, and Robert Fico (January–February 2026), the study develops the concept of private relatability – the systematic displacement of political authority from institutional mediation toward regimes of affective proximity and staged ordinariness. The analysis reveals a structural asymmetry: while Macron oscillates strategically between institutional solemnity and mediated intimacy, Meloni and Fico integrate private relatability as a constitutive logic of their political personas. This suggests that populist leadership styles enjoy a structural, though not deterministic, advantage in algorithmically visible environments. The findings carry normative implications for democratic accountability, mediated contestation, and political equality in contemporary Europe.

Legitimacy · Political authority · Politics · Traditional authority · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Power and Status Dynamics

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