2024-05-01 12:45:23
Are young people interested in European politics? What opportunities do they have in it and what influence does the way politicians communicate have on them? It is communication that is mentioned by Lucie Malá, a member of the Politika (not only) initiative for young people: “The young generation wants to be interested in a way that is closer to them. It is no longer about TV spots, but for example about reels on Instagram. Then the question is where does the interest end and where just doesn’t meet the mold.”
Europe for young people | Video: Oldrich Neumann
Photo: EU
According to Malá, the complexity of the topics presented also has a fundamental influence. According to her, their presentation on the domestic stage plays a role in the European ones in particular: “Of course, the EU is not perfect, but it shouldn’t slide into the fact that what doesn’t go well is Brussels’ fault. And when something goes well, the government or national representation,” adds Lucie Malá.
According to MEP Veronika Vrecionová (ODS), bringing European politics closer to you is difficult: “In municipal politics, you are close, all the people can see it there, and if you do something wrong, they immediately come to you. In contrast, bringing European politics closer to people is terribly difficult, because it’s far away, somewhere in Brussels, and the decision-making processes are complicated as hell.”
MEP Ondřej Kovařík (ANO) talks about the complexity of political discussions, which then leads to the brevity of social networks: “In the debates that we politicians lead, or in the analyzes of journalists and commentators, young people clearly do not see the answers that interest them. Then I understand that they will prefer to focus on very brief messages, which may not even necessarily have anything to do with politics as such.”
The guests also debated the involvement of young people in politics, on candidates for the European Parliament and in youth organizations. They also discussed banning unpaid internships.
You can watch the entire debate in the opening video or listen to it in your favorite podcast app.