The Democratic Party is alienating its base, particularly young voters, by capitulating to right-wing positions on key issues like immigration and social policies.

• Neglected Coalition & Demographic Collapse

• "we look at America's recent election where a lot of um specifically the Democrat Party has seemed to capitulate to right-wing Solutions specifically related to hot button issues like immigration and even some social issues. so do you think we could see that Trend happening across European Politics?"

  56:01 Watch ↗

• "I can speak from the UK in the UK it seems a little bit like a temporary solution because that's definitely what um Starman and the labor party were doing before they got into office and actually I was tracking their youth support as they went through the campaign and it started about 60% and went down to about 40% because they were they were adopting this sort of right positions on things like Gaza and immigration."

  56:35 Watch ↗

Mainstream parties and institutions have failed to engage young voters because they are unskilled and unaware of how to use modern communication technologies like social media, ceding this ground to the far-right.

• Media Ecosystem Failure

• "I have not heard anything about the new forms of communication among the younger generation so I'm you know thinking social media Etc we are still speaking about protest in form of taking to the streets or you know at the University … to which extent has the EU or various EU institutions failed to engage also … are you um institutions or players actors not particularly a tune or skilled or even aware of the fact that modes of communication and Technologies of communication play a role there have changed among the younger Europeans and if you want to reach them you might need to think more about what role social media really place."

  1:17:02 Watch ↗

• "now the far right um has been particularly masterful in using um Twitter and you know other forms of mass media to uh mobilize the youth vote uh so um this is what so far I've observed and it works it works if you manage to use the the tools of communication that that young people um use yeah there is a payoff but I haven't seen that successfully done by the European institutions."

  1:18:29 Watch ↗

Center-left and center-right parties are at fault for normalizing the far-right by adopting their language and policy ideas, thereby sanitizing and mainstreaming previously fringe views.

• Flawed Strategy & Tactical Incompetence

• "it's because politicians um from the center right have helped to normalize it … and then the conservative party started using its language taking some of its um ideas"

  1:03:22 Watch ↗

• "I do agree with you there's been a sanitization of the far right some of it's been strategic by the far right party some of it is a fault of I think it's fault of media as well for not calling out as well as the um center right and Center left parties."

  1:04:33 Watch ↗

Mainstream parties fail to connect with young people because they communicate in an elitist, out-of-touch, and 'cringeworthy' manner, focusing on bureaucratic jargon instead of the day-to-day issues that matter to youth.

• Elitist Culture & 'Woke' Alienation

• "… the EU Representatives came came in and they were speaking in a language like we are delivering this and we are delivering that and we they don't know the issues that young people are facing on a day-to-day basis that Alina outlined earlier they don't speak about mental health they don't speak about housing they might speak in very vague terms about the environment"

  53:36 Watch ↗

• "they need to connect with young people but they really do it in a very elitist way and they just what style of doing it is so bad … if the EU does it tries to communicate with young people directly it it doesn't work and they they do try but it it um it's cringeworthy to be honest."

  54:13 Watch ↗

Mainstream parties use abstract, academic language about 'social justice' and 'inclusion' that fails to resonate with the specific, tangible problems young people experience.

• Elitist Culture & 'Woke' Alienation

• "parties and maybe political communication like my colleague said uh they remain their discourse uh very B about social justice an inclusion so this language of justice but like academic language of Justice not speaking to the specific um what what what hurts um and so maybe it's not so so much on ideological choice that young people make to to vote for the far right but very pragmatic Choice."

  23:30 Watch ↗

Far-right parties are successfully winning over young voters by pragmatically and directly addressing their specific, everyday concerns like housing, while mainstream parties fail to offer compelling solutions.

• Neglected Coalition & Demographic Collapse

• "so far right parties in their electoral mobilization address directly these ises about housing and and off Solutions so I think that far right parties have been very pragmatic in addressing the specific grievances of young people and like giving giving them some well"

  23:06 Watch ↗

A significant values gap exists between the political establishment (elites) and young people, particularly on foreign policy issues like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, leading to outrage and alienation among youth.

• Neglected Coalition & Demographic Collapse

• "Al detect a huge gap between the preferences of Elites and the population on many issues but especially uh the preferences of uh and the values of young people and the elad so this is the big divide of our times I recently uh looked up a a a survey about attitudes to um uh the uh conflicts in the middle uh and most of young people are outraged uh that the atrocities suffered by the Arab and Muslim populations in the hands of the Israeli government while European uh Elites you know the ruling Elites are um tend to be supportive or tolerant of these actions so there is a big Gap in um in these attitudes"

  21:01 Watch ↗

In an era of constant crisis, mainstream parties are losing impatient voters because the slow, messy process of democracy cannot compete with the simple, quick solutions offered by populist and far-right parties.

• Process-Driven Governmental Failure

• "European you young people but also generally public is is tired of waiting so it has lost its patience with a more slow uh delivery of democracy so democracy is a slow process it takes time it's messy uh and and people with all these what we now call poly Crisis crisis after the crisis they are hungry for quick Solutions and this is what populist party are extremely you know or especially the far right are very good at stop immigration that's a quick solution so it seems to me that that is why they win votes"

  26:30 Watch ↗

Mainstream party messaging fails to resonate with young people because it is disconnected from their everyday lives and does not address their tangible concerns like housing, mental health, and high energy costs.

• "it's not GNA it's not going to sort of communicate well it's not going to resonate nothing was about housing mental health and it's not going to reson with what's going on in people's everyday lives so you're right the EU has had a Comm they've been in absolute denial about this communication for ages."

  1:22:17 Watch ↗

Establishment parties are failing to address the deep-seated economic insecurity and 'mass precarity' felt by young people, who are so concerned about the future that they now fear poverty in old age.

• Neglected Coalition & Demographic Collapse

• "one item that I found rather shocking in such surveys especially that was that came from a survey of uh youth attitudes in Germany fear of poverty in old age can IM young people worrying about poverty in old age is a symptom of this what my my mostly my work recently has been about this Mass prec precarity the massive insecurity that people experience the incapacity to cope fear for the future um so I see this um concern with poverty in old age as as a symptom of of that phenomenon"

  19:09 Watch ↗

Governing parties are actively undermining their support by prioritizing abstract economic 'competitiveness' over tangible benefits like job security and environmental protection, which are key concerns for voters.

• Flawed Economics & Corporate Servitude

• "I'm afraid that this commission is going exactly in the opposite direction because they are uh focusing they have a re rephrased the European green deal for instance as the pack for competitiveness so competitiveness is is the big idea here but for the sake of competitiveness exactly our jobs have become less secure um we're cutting down the Pol the pro environmental action."

  36:55 Watch ↗

The institutional structure of large governing bodies like the EU creates gridlock, making it easier to deregulate and harder to pass the progressive social and environmental policies that young people demand, leading to systemic unresponsiveness.

• Process-Driven Governmental Failure

• "what you have in the European Union is it becomes more easier easy to take things away to deregulate than is to regulate because when you're regulating when you're making sort of social policy or green policy more or less everyone has to agree …"

  38:08 Watch ↗

Progressive movements and young people have failed to maintain sustained political pressure through activism, ceding influence to opposing groups and allowing policymakers to roll back progressive policies.

• Internal Party Dysfunction & Organizational Decay

• "in the previous administration um the that designed the European green deal that was at the time when young people were on the streets Marching for the Fridays for future last year when the the the streets of Brussels you know elsewhere were occupied by the farmers demanding less green policy the European commission reacted with proposals to retract you know the green legislation so it seems to me that it makes sense for young people to get back on the streets because even without you know proper Democratic representation etc etc these protests they shape public they they shap Elite opinion."

  40:30 Watch ↗

Centrist parties are failing because they offer no compelling vision for young people, who feel abandoned by an economic system of globalization and free markets that they perceive as benefiting older generations.

• Neglected Coalition & Demographic Collapse

• "I think the French people maybe they got it earlier than other groups that actually some of these issues connected with economic let's call it economic globalization but we let's call it free markets whatever we want to call it um that they don't like a lot of what's happened in France recently and they don't feel that they've had much of a voice …"

  50:40 Watch ↗

Prevailing labor policies create a generational schism by protecting the rights of older workers while consigning young people to precarious, short-term contracts, leaving them feeling 'left behind' by the system.

• Neglected Coalition & Demographic Collapse

• "there's quite um a tradition in France and other countries to protect workers rights but the way they're protecting workers rights are keeping it for older Generations like me and almost like new to the labor market like so your generation are being sort of put on short-term contracts so it's got to be a real sort of focus on what we can do for the younger generation it's workers rights it's housing because they're really being um Left Behind in countries like France so this big welfare state that they have is being preserved but it's only being preserved um for older generations."

  51:16 Watch ↗

Mainstream parties in power are electorally vulnerable because voters treat secondary contests, like EU elections, as low-stakes opportunities to cast a 'protest vote' against the national government.

• "quite a lot of the time people vote different differently in EU elections to how they would vote in national elections and they almost see the EU elections as maybe a protest vote against the party that's in power in their country so you can have so many different motivations and so the EU elections are what we would call sort of second order election so most people and most young people in most countries see their own national election as far more important."

  48:24 Watch ↗

Politicians from mainstream parties are ineffective messengers to young people and need to empower young 'champions' to communicate on their behalf through peer-to-peer networks, as direct communication from the establishment fails.

• "it's like your mom and dad's trying to sort of communicate with your friends and sort of talk to them about politics it's not going to work right. and so I think what politicians need to realize is they may need Champions and other young people to communicate with the other young people so it's almost like getting young people like you to communicate with other young people because that's a way that you can do it and that's how social media works it works horizontally communication through social networks."

  54:35 Watch ↗

Mainstream parties are failing to attract young voters because they lack a compelling, forward-looking vision that young people can rally behind.

• Internal Party Dysfunction & Organizational Decay

• "know young people need a vision and there's no vision um from the center parties in France so I'm a little bit worried but um on the other hand it could well be as it's a two-stage election it depends who gets through to the second round in France right so if it's a center candidate um and Leen then probably the center candidate wins."

  51:50 Watch ↗

Mainstream parties use an outdated, vertical (top-down) communication model that is fundamentally incompatible with how younger generations communicate horizontally through social networks, leading to a failure to connect.

• Media Ecosystem Failure

• "the way people interact or communicate with each other and this follows on social media is horizontally whereas a lot of parties um and institutions act vertically to S of communicate and disseminate information … the European Union in insists on communicating vertically um and that just doesn't work it doesn't work with anyone and it works least well uh with young people."

  1:19:27 Watch ↗

Mainstream political institutions are unwilling to adopt more effective, democratic, and horizontal communication strategies because they fear losing control of the message, which prevents them from connecting with younger generations.

• Internal Party Dysfunction & Organizational Decay

• "political parties and political institutions they don't want to lose control of the message and if you don't want to lose control of the message um and you don't dare more democracy then you are um not going to be able to communicate with younger Generations."

  1:23:18 Watch ↗

Mainstream institutions fail to connect with youth because they do not engage in genuine grassroots-level work, instead interacting with unrepresentative, elite youth organizations and failing to reach people in deprived communities.

• Internal Party Dysfunction & Organizational Decay

• "I've spoken with the European Youth Forum and you know they're all great people but they're not exactly representative of young people and if you want um you need to do a little bit more work you need to go to the youth sector you need to look at sort of people from deprived communities um you need to have you know engage a little bit more at Grassroots level and I think that's kind of what works."

  1:21:09 Watch ↗

Center parties lack compelling, simple, and shareable content for young voters, unlike the far-right, and even when they have positive policies, they fail to communicate them effectively.

• Media Ecosystem Failure

• "if you don't actually have any content so I think the far right has content in a bad you know they have content that you can um stick in a sort of short social media feed as well I I think the center parties could have content right there could be stuff we were talking about um whether it's on the environment or other issues or minimum wage that we have in this country."

  1:20:24 Watch ↗

Mainstream parties fail to mobilize youth because they don't empower young people to act as 'champions' or 'hubs' within their own social networks, which is a necessary strategy for effective modern campaigning.

• Internal Party Dysfunction & Organizational Decay

• "what you need is you need these entry points into their social networks you almost need other young people acting as Champions as sort of hubs of the networks and so um but then you need actual real issues to for them to talk about."

  1:20:06 Watch ↗

Left-leaning and centrist parties are failing to address the profound economic anxiety and desire for stability among young people, who are pushed towards conservatism because they cannot plan for their future.

• Neglected Coalition & Demographic Collapse

• "… what we need is politics of stabilization of economic stability so that you know young people can even plan their future you know if they're all the time um getting one degree after another with the hope that finally they will get a job that does not allow you to to plan your life and to thrive"

  35:56 Watch ↗

Mainstream European institutions have failed to effectively counter the rise of internal populist and nationalist threats, allowing anti-democratic leaders to weaken the bloc's democratic integrity from within.

• Process-Driven Governmental Failure

• "I think it it raises a important point about what the EU has been doing or hasn't been doing internally over the past few years since enlargement as well and so for example Poland until its recent change of government was sort of quite populist right and was infringing um Hungary under Orban as you probably know has been infringing …"

  42:28 Watch ↗

Mainstream politicians have failed to have an honest public conversation about the economic necessity of immigration, treating it like a 'dirty secret' and allowing the far-right to control the narrative with dishonest, anti-immigrant messaging.

• Ceding Ground on Crime & Immigration

• "the problem is is that for a long time politicians haven't been telling the truth and the truth is that economically we've been relying on IM personally I have no problem with that … I don't think you know there's hasn't been this um sensible discussion about immigration that you know what are we going to do … and politicians for years and years have been allowing this to go on with this almost dirty Secret that we need IM immigrants … is the discourse going to be an honest one about what immigration actually is or it's is it going to be a dishonest one that the populist and the far right like to have that we don't need immigration when in fact we do"

  32:20 Watch ↗

Unless mainstream policymakers directly address the tangible, everyday concerns of young people—such as housing, mental health, and foreign policy grievances—youth will continue to become skeptical and seek alternatives in far-left or far-right parties.

• Neglected Coalition & Demographic Collapse

• "I think that there is a danger unless policy makers do address young people's very real everyday concerns Aina was talking about so housing mental health um Gaza well you know whatever it is um that unless they do actually address these direct concerns then people become skeptical and look for um other Alternatives I mean hopefully they're not um the far right but um you know that is um one possible way of thinking"

  29:04 Watch ↗

High-level institutions like the European Parliament have become too disconnected and ineffective to address the tangible, local concerns of young people, who are losing faith in these bodies' ability to deliver change.

• Process-Driven Governmental Failure

• "it's having the voices of young people in policymaking and I'm afraid that I'm not sure that the the European Parliament or the European level Institution um are able to do that anymore and I think you almost have to look to lower levels of democracy for these types of things to work."

  39:47 Watch ↗

The left is losing ground by focusing on abstract concepts like 'fighting inequality,' while the far-right is successfully co-opting traditionally left-wing issues by making specific promises about investment in healthcare, education, and housing.

• Flawed Strategy & Tactical Incompetence

• "far right parties are adopting leftwing politics policies you know among the uh look at the Dutch elections or the French elections um some of the Grievances where the promises were exactly about social protection coming from the the far right and in in France there was a very diff interesting difference so the left was focusing on fighting inequality well for the right uh for the far right the topic was about the commment um need for investment in in healthare in education in housing."

  58:56 Watch ↗

The political system and mainstream activism overlook young people from poorer backgrounds, leaving them without a voice and making them more susceptible to extremist ideologies.

• Neglected Coalition & Demographic Collapse

• "the people who tend to be active in non-electoral forms of politics tend to be young people with high levels of educational attainment and so the people people who aren't active are young people from poor background who then have no voice and then that's a real danger because those are people who would tend more towards extremism."

  1:13:13 Watch ↗