Från berättelse till avgång : Mediala narrativ i fallen Anna Kinberg Batra och Henrik Landerholm

Political crises and scandals sometimes culminate in resignations, not solely as a result of legal violations, but through processes of media interpretation and public meaning-making. This study examines how Swedish news media construct political narratives of responsibility and legitimacy during crises that possibly lead to resignation. Using framing theory as a theoretical framework and qualitative narrative analysis as a method, the study analyzes media reporting in Dagens Nyheter and Svenska Dagbladet on two contemporary cases: the resignation of county governor Anna Kinberg Batra and national security adviser Henrik Landerholm. The analysis focuses on how problems are defined, how causes and responsibility are attributed, how moral judgments are activated, and how human interest framing contributes to the construction of legitimacy crises. The findings show that despite substantial differences in the nature of the scandals, media narratives in both cases progressively framed the actors as lacking judgment and suitability for office. Resignation was thereby constructed as a possible politically viable outcome. The study contributes to research on mediatization and political accountability by illustrating how media narratives actively shape political consequences beyond formal responsibility.