FP5 project finds lack of trust in politicians among Europe's youth
The EUYOUPART project has conducted a large-scale study of politicisation among Europe's youth and found disinterest to be the prevailing attitude towards politics. Funded under the Fifth Framework Programme (FP5), the project was intended to develop a new measurement instrument for gauging the political participation of Europeans aged between 15 and 25, and to contribute to the quality of comparative research in Europe. The partners interviewed 8,030 young people in eight EU countries for the study. In spite of the lack of interest, the majority of those interviewed were found to support voting as the most effective form of political participation, and a fairly high percentage declared that they had used their right to vote. The disinterest is perhaps fuelled by the lack of trust in politicians, to which many of those interviewed alluded. In all eight participating countries, the young people declared that they have more confidence in non-governmental organisations (NGOs) such as Greenpeace and Amnesty International than in political institutions. The EU institutions were found to enjoy more trust than national institutions. National parliaments were declared more trustworthy than national politicians and parties. Perhaps surprisingly, a majority of those interviewed claimed to feel close to a particular political party, particularly the Italians (71 per cent) and the Finns (68 per cent). And in spite of the distrust, the youths in all countries were found to have an idealistic view of politics. Some 68 per cent regarded it as a way in which to solve international problems, while 67 per cent saw it as a way to solve social problems. On a less idealistic note, 46 per cent associated politics with 'empty promises', while 35 per cent connected it with corruption. Estonia was found to have the most optimistic youth. Over 80 per cent of those interviewed were expecting better conditions than their parents' generation experienced. Finland, the UK and Slovakia also have a generally optimistic youth. The young French and Italians are optimistic with regard to their job and income perspectives, but fear a cutback n social security, while the young Germans and Austrians were less optimistic, expecting to live in worse conditions than those experienced by their parents now. The EUYOUPART team also investigated the influences on participative behaviour and found three factors that may motivate political involvement: school and education; the media; politicisation within one's personal environment. Those that make use of structures for political participation at school tend to be politically active outside of school, while those with political parents and friends are more likely to be have political views and to be involved in politics themselves. A difference between the impact of parents' and friends' attitudes was found, however. Political attitudes are likely to be shaped by intergenerational socialisation, while political behaviour is more likely to be influenced by generational socialisation. Between 11.3 per cent (UK) and 38.4 per cent (Italy) claimed that they follow politics in the mass media on a daily basis. Most do so via television, although the radio is still influential in Germany and Austria, and the prevailing source of information for Young Finns and Estonians is the Internet. Not surprisingly, those who seek information via active-reception media such as newspapers and the Internet tend to be more politically active than their counterparts who inform themselves via television.