Although 57% of young Europeans back democracy over any other form of government, 48% believe it is at risk in their country, according to a new survey conducted by YouGov for the TUI Foundation.
The research gathered the opinions of 6,703 Europeans aged 16-26 years old living in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Poland, as well as the United Kingdom.
The findings revealed that support for democracy is highest among young Germans — 71% of respondents backed it here — while Poles showed the lowest levels of support, with 48% endorsing this political system.
Even though the majority of respondents expressed support for democracy, 21% said that under certain circumstances, they would favour an authoritarian government over a democratic one.
Compared to four years ago, a rising number of young people in surveyed countries classified themselves as right of centre, with this figure rising from 14% to 19%.
“Among young people who position themselves politically right of centre and feel economically disadvantaged, support for democracy drops to just one-third,” said Prof. Dr. Thorsten Faas of the Free University of Berlin, who collaborated on the study.
“These figures show that democracy is under pressure – from both outside and within.”
At the other end of the political spectrum, the proportion of young people who classified themselves as left of centre also rose, particularly in Germany, France and Italy.
What do young people make of Europe and the EU?
In total, 51% of respondents backed the claim “the EU is a good idea, but it is very poorly implemented”, with the most Euroscepticism on this matter stemming from young Greeks, 63% of whom agreed with the statement.
Additionally, 40% of respondents said they believed that the way in which the EU is not particularly democratic.
In terms of the EU’s sphere of action, 53% argued that the EU affords too much effort to trivial matters and that instead it should focus on tackling more important issues.
These include tackling the cost of living crisis, expanding defence against external threats and building better conditions for businesses.
Despite this debate around the EU’s efficiency, respondents overwhelmingly backed EU membership, with 66% agreeing that belonging to the bloc is a good thing. Meanwhile, 73% of young Brits said they backed re-joining the EU.
The survey also revealed that with time, young Europeans are becoming more critical of immigration, as 38% backed tougher immigration policies, compared to 26% in 2021.
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