More than 80% of young people aged 15-29 in Slovakia believe that democracy is the best political system, while 82% agree with Slovakia remaining in the EU and 73% want the country to stay in NATO, according to a survey by the Slovak Youth Council. However, most of the respondents, namely 84%, also stated that Slovak politicians do not care about the young, and less than 25% were of the opinion that they can influence political decisions in the country. Meanwhile, only one in five young Slovaks trusts political parties at least to some extent.
The number of young people who think they have views worth listening to has increased significantly since 2020 from 39% to 51%, while 61% think that they understand how society and politics work. Approximately 75% would welcome opportunities to meet politicians, either online or face-to-face. The respondents were also positive about a proposal to set quotas for young people in various decision-making bodies and to strengthen youth organisations in politics, with 70% agreeing with the idea.
Young people in Slovakia most often trust youth and student initiatives (71%), local governments (69%), the European Union (68%), the army (63%) and NATO (61%). More than half of the respondents trust the people in charge of the Slovak regions (55%), the police (55%), the president (54%), and NGOs (53%). The majority of young Slovaks do not trust the courts, with only 38% assessing them positively. The government was supported by 30% of the respondents, while Slovak political parties were the most distrusted institution, enjoying the trust of only 21% of the respondents.
The survey was carried out in April on a sample of 1,055 respondents.
Source: TASR
