Under 35, the future scares but a stronger Europe increases optimism

They declare themselves mostly pro-European, believe in freedom of movement as the true cornerstone of Europe and do not perceive migration flows as a threat. They think that compulsory schooling did not contribute to their (admittedly poor) knowledge of EU institutions and they do not feel represented at all by Italian leaders within the EU. These are the 'new Europeans', girls and boys under the age of 35 as they emerge from the research project conducted by Uncomfortable , the community-magazine founded in Rome in 2016 by a group of high school and university students and distributed throughout the country, presented less than a month after the European vote of 8 and 9 June.

The answers to the questionnaires, which reached almost 10 thousand people born after the fall of the Berlin Wall (to which must be added the analysis of 168 thousand posts on X and almost 90 thousand agency launches on the Ansa dataset) return the image of a generation in the grip of pessimism that looks to the future with concern above all for climate change, inflation and mental health. Europe itself, however, becomes a reassuring reference point for the years to come: those who believe in the prospect of a European Union with more powers also show themselves to be less afraid for the future. "It is crucial for the new generations to imagine a broad social, political and cultural space in which individual and collective aspirations can be accommodated. In this sense, a perspective of closure and fragmentation is correlated with a sense of mistrust in the future,' comments Edoardo Bucci, co-founder and editorial director of Scomodo.

There is a huge problem of representation because Brussels appears distant, unable to listen to the younger generation. So what characteristics should a political leader have according to the younger part of the electorate? Age does not count (being under 40 does not seem to be a priority per se), nor gender (a female politician), but boasting an element that has long been underestimated in the anti-politics season: competence. The requirements are a high degree of education and being an expert in a technical field. "It emerges," Bucci goes on to emphasise, "how sensitivity to issues related to gender identity, generational belonging and sensitivity to the climate crisis are considered prerequisites for a valid and representative ruling class. It is only on this basis that preparation and experience take on a decisive role.

What will Italy's under-35s do on 8 and 9 June , when the European elections will mark what the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella called a "great exercise in democracy" in which people have the opportunity to make themselves protagonists of their own future? 57% plan to vote. But it should be noted that, in the group of those who will desert the ballot box, there is a higher percentage of people who usually vote than chronic abstentionists. European elections - these numbers seem to say - are perceived as distant compared to national or local elections and therefore less interesting. Moreover, few young people feel adequately informed about the workings of the European Parliament and the other EU institutions (Council, Commission or ECB). One of the causes of this lack of knowledge should give us pause for thought: it is the latitude of compulsory schooling, which does not do an adequate job of training the 'new Europeans'. It is individual choices such as travelling to EU countries, studying abroad or work experience that foster contact with the continental reality.

The rate of Europeanism is high in a generation accustomed to living in a European horizon: 40% of the interviewees feel "as Italian as European" (against a third who feel more Italian), while 65% declare themselves "Europeanist" or "strongly Europeanist". It would therefore be a 'terrible event' or in any case a 'very serious event' for Italy to leave the European Union: after all, one of the most controversial effects of Brexit was the end of the right to live in each other's countries, which led to a halt in the mobility enjoyed by young people in particular. Personal relationships transcend national borders (in the last year 79% have contacted friends or relatives living in other European countries at least once), although only 32% have participated in EU-funded training or work programmes.