A Mojito instead of a vote/ Why young people in Greece will boycott the May 21 elections en masse

2023-05-19 08:04:00, Blog CNA

A Mojito instead of a vote/ Why young people in Greece will boycott the May 21

"France24"

They are first-time voters, 16 and older, who grew up during the national bankruptcy, the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis. Now they have the chance to decide the country's future when Greece goes to the polls on Sunday, May 21, three months after the country's worst rail tragedy, in which 30 of the 57 people who died were under 30.

That event prompted tens of thousands of people to take to the streets to vent their anger at the government, which for the past eight years has been led by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis or his main rival, Alexis Tsipras. Conservative Mitotakis, 55, radical leftist Tsipras, 48, and former PASOK MP Nikos Andrulakis, 44, are dominating the polls.

High school student Nefeli Zoganeli, 16, is eager to make her voice heard. "Recently I learned that I have the right to vote and I am enthusiastic about it," she told AFP from her home in the northern suburb of Athens, Anixi.

Greece is one of only three EU countries that allows teenagers under 18 to vote. This means that anyone born in 2006 or earlier can take part in Sunday's election. This time, around 440,000 young Greeks are eligible to vote for the first time, representing around 8 percent of the electorate.

Tired of mainstream parties

But despite repeated appeals by politicians and various social media stunts, young voters are not expected to turn out en masse on Sunday. Only 1 in 4 people aged 17-24 voted in the last election in 2019, says Maria Karaklioumi, political analyst for polling company RASS.

Zuganeli expects most of her classmates - fed up with the main parties - to either boycott or choose one of the dozens of smaller parties that have little hope of making it to parliament. "I think we should all go vote. Abstinence is not a solution" - says the teenager.

The serious rail accident on February 28, on the country's main train line from Athens to the second city of Thessaloniki, could help the election. At the height of the protests in March, tens of thousands of people demonstrated across the country.

Kostis Smanis, a 25-year-old electronics engineering graduate still looking for a job, says he was "angry" at the current government for blaming the station's director and avoiding responsibility for years of mismanagement and under-investment. . "I didn't like the way they tried to cover it up," he says.

Wages are very low

However, for him the biggest problem in the election is the labor market. "Salaries are very low compared to the cost of living" - says the graduate, who has been studying for the last 3 years in the northern city of England, Manchester. Smanis returned to Greece hoping to build a future near his family and friends, but he does not rule out the possibility of leaving again.

“Nëse vendos të qëndroj këtu, ideja për të marrë një apartament me qira më duket e largët”- e pranon punëkërkuesi, i cili ende jeton me prindërit e tij në lagjen Neo Iraklio në periferi të Athinës. Sipas të dhënave më të fundit të disponueshme nga agjencia e statistikave të BE-së, Eurostat, Greqia është vendi me nivelin e dytë më të lartë të papunësisë së të rinjve në Bashkimin Evropian, me 24.2 për qind të të papunëve nën 25 vjeç.

“Pavarësisht se është i arsimuar më mirë... brezi i ri ka një pjesëmarrje dukshëm më të lartë në profesionet që konsiderohen të keq-paguara dhe që kanë kushte të këqija në punë”- thotë Aleksis Joanidis, profesor i ekonomisë politike të punës në Universitetin Demokritus të Trakës.

Tomas Zumis, 21 vjeç, i cili jeton në ishullin turistik Paros dhe punon në kompaninë e familjes së tij, thotë se të ardhurat e qëndrueshme janë shumë të rëndësishme. “Gjëja kryesore që pres nga qeveria, është të më ndihmojë të përmirësoj gjendjen time financiare”- thotë ai.

Mojito në vend të votës

Megjithëse turizmi sjell para dhe krijon vende pune, Tomas dëshiron më shumë për ishullin e tij. “Ne nuk kemi infrastrukturën e duhur për të përballuar kaq shumë njerëz gjatë verës: rrugë, ujë, energji elektrike, internet. Unë paguaj taksat e mia për qeverinë qendrore, por nuk marr shumë në këmbim”- ankohet ai.

Në dilemë mbi premtimet zgjedhore të minutës së fundit, përfshirë një kupon prej 150 eurosh për “kalimin në moshë madhore” dhe rritjen e pagës minimale nga 780 në të paktën 880 euro, votuesit e rinj në Greqi kanë shumë pak kohë për të vendosur.

"I think I will vote for the lesser evil" - says Smanis, who thinks that the Greek political scene is afraid of the new. "Politicians try to sell people things they want to hear," he underlines. However, for 16-year-old Zuganeli, ideology is important.

"If we vote according to what we defend, maybe things can start to change," she says. But in a country with an aging population, no one is talking about how Greece should be in 20 years, says Karakliumi. "It is not surprising that a young person will prefer to go to a bar to drink a Mojito instead of voting" - she concludes./ Adapted from CNA.al