One of the politicians of the Law and Justices is very upset erstwhile we ask. “Every gathering shows that more young people come to us. More young people are curious in politics. Mr Karol Nawrocki attracts young people and young people engage in his campaign. At a gathering with him, I saw quite a few young people. I don't think we lost young people – he repeats.
What about the alleged advanced school youth who's following Sławomir Mentzen?
Another of the PiS parliamentarians admits, as if he shruged his arms, downplaying the matter: – It is felt that younger people do not engage and that they come more to Mentzen. These kids are just increasing up and just getting more online. How does their activity translate into reality? We saw late in Krakow, during supplementary elections to the Senate. Mentzen draws crowds to the moon and the Confederate candidate won 10% of the vote.
All right, but, do they have any thought how to scope these young people? It's like, "What's the matter?"
Primary in schools – Nawrocks at the end
– No 1 has any thought how to attract them. It utilized to be easier to engage or encourage individual to attend a meeting. Now everyone has net and sits on the phone. And the young man will say, "Why should I go? I have everything on my phone" and will not leave the home – responds PiS politician.
The main electorate of PiS has always been older than the PO, but with this approach it is not amazing that the results of the primaries, which were organized in any advanced schools in Poland before May. In Poznań, Karol Nawrocki received only 2.7 percent of support from advanced school students, and in Gdynia – 2 percent of the PiS candidate was far behind others, including Krzysztof Stanowski, Joanna Senyszyn and Magdalena Biejat.
In both cities, the primary was won by Rafał Trzaskowski (31.82 percent and 27.7%), just before Adrian Zandberg (18.44 percent and 23.5%). In Poznań, the 3rd was Sławomir Mentzen (13.99 percent).
However, these primaries are only 1 component that leads to different conclusions.
Did they lose to Mentzen?
– We lost youth. And PiS, and we – claims 1 of the PO activists. It's the kids who come to Mentzen's. I remember 5 years ago, erstwhile we were collecting signatures for Rafal Trzaskowski, advanced school students came up, raised their thumbs up. Now they can say uncool words – he told us a fewer days ago about east areas of Poland, where even in the bastions of PiS Mentzen attracted crowds.
MP Monika Rosa admits that any young people are lost. And that erstwhile they meet people, they feel that young people are a small fascinated by Mentzen. - Young people always rebel. They're looking for something new, something original, something cool on social media. Certainly, erstwhile it comes to the issue of these media Sławomir Mentzen wins – he says.
But, as he emphasizes, Rafał Trzaskowski has been organizing the Campus of the Future for years, which brings together young people. And based on meetings with them, their opinions and requests, it builds its programme and objectives to be achieved.
– Of course, we request to put as much energy into making young people want to go to elections. It takes effort and civic and media education, including at school, to make good, informed decisions. This is simply a trial for years. Young people spend quite a few time on social media, and from there they mostly learn and build their views and their community. That is why it is besides learning to separate fake from truth, to separate hatred and hatred speech from what freedom of speech is. Not always individual who is cool on TikTok will be able to exercise power and supply – says the MP.
But have the PO and the Law and Justice truly lost quite a few these young people today?
"It's an exaggerated formula," "Talk to young people with a simple language"
– I think it's an exaggerated formula. The argument that the main parties lost youth is not entirely up for defence. PO among young voters is simply a cresus. He's 1 of the main actors. There are of course age cohorts, where the PO is better. In the case of PiS, however, this happened. Nevertheless, PiS among young people has never had specified advanced support as in peculiar in the generation 60 plus – says Prof. Rafał Chwedoruk, a political scientist at the University of Warsaw.
Prof. Jacek Wodz, a sociologist of politics, believes that the main parties lost the youngest. He besides thinks they slept.
– They were curious mainly in each other, not changing generations of Poles, especially pocovid, which is completely different from that before Covid. These parties should now focus little on the technical-political language and more on the language spoken by these young people. To talk to them directly, in simple language. To realize them. Don't be offended that they don't spell. Don't point out they're on phones. And without knowing that we are smarter than you, he comments.
Here comes the question of the indecisive young.
"Young people want to break the current organization duo"
"A large proportion of young voters do not know who they will vote for in the presidential election, their conviction may be crucial to the result of the election" – according to the study "Disappointed state, happy with life. Presidential elections of young Polish women and Poles" of the Batory Foundation, which present cites most of the media in Poland.
"This is the last minute to perceive to the voice of the young generation, which, erstwhile in 2023, decided to change power. Today, although disappointed with politics, they inactive believe in democracy and want real changes," the foundation alarms.
The study says that 30% of young people do not know who to vote for and that is over a million indecisive. We besides read that the biggest support among the strong young voters is the candidate of the Confederation Sławomir Mentzen, and then candidate KO Rafał Trzaskowski, but that support for candidates is unstable, which shows Mentzen's case.
In a report, whose conclusion is that "persuading undecided young voters can be crucial to the result of the election", there is besides a passage:
"Young people want the future president to be primarily authentic, competent and focused on the real problems of citizens, especially the young generation. They want to break the current organization duo and leave the passive and predictable presidency".
Prof. Jacek Wodz, is not very surprised.
– There is now a very fast exchange of generational language for public debate. The generation of 50-year-olds present speaks a different language, not to mention even older than 20-30-year-olds. The language spoken by Polish politicians now, not even that it does not suit them, but simply does not talk to them. It's not their language. Young people would anticipate that interest in their problems would be expressed in a language that is their language. I think there is an external reason for them to be indecisive – he comments on the subject.
– possibly any fresh political force will gotta uncover itself, which – balancing between more national and European tendencies – will effort to make a fresh language – he adds.
How much it is essential for young people to show the case of Sławomir Mentzen, who spent months bringing 16-year-olds to his age+, and everyone wondered why specified a phenomenon of his quotations. besides Joanna Senyszyn, who abruptly became the idol of young people in social media and laughs at memes about herself with them. And Adrian Zandberg.
Let's review 1 of the mid-April polls here. "In the 18-24 age group, cards appear to be handed out to Sławomir Mentzen and Adrian Zandberg. Sławomir Mentzen would support 34.3 percent of the youngest electors, and Adrian Zandberg would support 21.8 percent."
– Mentzen brings together young people, but these are the young ones who are most likely not going to vote this year. Zandberg is besides old to work out that language. Rather, there is simply a request for a fresh expression of public affairs. And that is not the case – says Prof. Chief.
MP Monika Rosa says she understands this fascination of young people with different fresh people. It always does. Young people are always tired of something, they want something new, they want to break stereotypes. It's good that someone's selling out on TikTok, saying they're outside of the duopol, but that doesn't truly mean anything. That doesn't show any experience. It doesn't show that he can hold the office of president. Rafał Trzaskowski has been trying to build a policy aimed at young people for years – he comments.
Prof. Rafał Chwedoruk besides evaluates: – Young people always want things to be different, so it's like nihil novi. If the voices of young people were to decide for years, Janusz Korwin-Mikke would be 1 of the main politicians. In my opinion, change will be evolutionary, not revolutionary.
"It's not like you can build formation on young people"
Politologist opposes the thesis that old parties could fall easy due to deficiency of support for young people and that new, large formations would be formed with young politicians or, as he says, mostly old politicians who pretend to be young.
As he says, politicians will gotta learn to count. And not just the stereotype that young people don't vote, they should be drawn to our party. “It is actually the pensioners who will increasingly decide about elections,” he says.
– Modern culture, on the another hand, is aimed at young and middle-aged people. Even if individual is at this age, they should pretend to be young, which sometimes leads to grotesque situations specified as Joe Biden's Twitter appearances. Politicians request to adapt to the rules of business and contemporary culture, but it is not so that you can simply build a political formation on young people. This is clearly seen in the example of the Confederation and formations akin to it in the sense of the age structure of support – the Kukiza movement, a small Polish 2050, the Palikot movement – says Prof. Chwedoruk.
He besides points out that after this young generation we can anticipate everything.
– Generation Z is simply a generation that has socialized during permanent changes, where everything happens rapidly and lasts briefly, just like clicking on the Internet. And where changes in political preferences will be much simpler than for generations socialised in a sustainable policy divided into PO-PiS, he says.
