What can Ukraine's new counteroffensive achieve?
The Ukrainian officer calls us through the "Google Mee...
"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
The Ukrainian officer calls us through the "Google Mee...
Throughout history, revolutions have been a powerful t...
Like so many young people in America, our lives are fo...
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres received t...
Molly was 88 years old and in relatively good health. She ...
Ever since Russia threatened to intervene in Ukraine, ...
Turqia do të shkojë këtë të diel drejt qendrave të vot...
Nuclear scientist Sigfried S. Hecker, 79, is one of th...
According to the Internet Watch foundation, since 2019 the...
I visited Kiev last month to meet with Ukrainian President...
Two drones carried out an attack inside the Kremlin compou...
The Eiffel Tower was inaugurated in Paris on March 31, 188...
Is there a Western preference for the winner as Turkey...
Njerëzimi ka 2 probleme kryesore, të cilat janë bërë m...
Have you ever heard of a man who claims to be the rein...
The telephone conversation between Xi Jinping and Volo...
Që nga fillimi i këtij viti, më shumë se 600 emigrantë vlerë...
Imagine for a moment a typical British scenario. A pop...
Kiev - "After Ukraine, it's Chechnya's turn" - says the Ch...
Can America survive a second Joe Biden presidency and pote...
CNA reported about a month ago that Tirana municipalit...
Mariglen Qato, the director of Erion Veliajt, arrested thi...
A citizen complained in Fiks Fare that, after visiting an ...
CNA denounced Mayor Erion Veliaj's propaganda two days ago...
Another prosecutor got stuck in the vetting sieve. ...
The Special Appeals Panel dismissed another prosecutor. T...
The assets of judges and prosecutors went through a st...
The Independent Qualification Commission dismissed the pro...
An apartment was engulfed in flames this Thursday afternoo...
The court has left in prison the former prison police offi...
Arrestohet në Pogradec një shtetas italian, i cili tra...
The police in Shkodër were able to arrest the citizen NL, ...
Ditën e enjte ynë do të vijojë të ndikohet nga kushte të p...
Institucionet e menaxhimit të shëndetit publik u vunë ...
Për ditën e Mërkurë vendi ynë do të vijojë të jetë nën...
For Tuesday, our country is expected to be affected by uns...
Former US Senator Joe Lieberman, who was very close to the...
New York - Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday crit...
For the first time in 27 years, the United States governme...
Russia has been pushing for a United Nations Security Coun...
This Wednesday evening, the premiere "Tirana from the Air"...
The second Albanian school after Korça was opened in Pogra...
Berti has been my best friend. Even narrower than when he ...
Gjergji ka konkuruar në një nga festivalet të këngës së le...
The month of February has not been good for savings deposi...
The "Railway Transport" program had 4.1 billion ALL of...
While in Tirana, the prices of greens and vegetables in Fe...
Today, March 28, 2024, in the foreign exchange market, the...