Sudden emergency

With one year to go before the next legislative elections, political parties have already begun warming up, which results, among other things, in battles over electoral law reform and political squabbles over issues with social impact, turning them into campaign arguments … But amid all this excitement, the most decisive issue seems to have been swept under the carpet. Will the parties manage to (re)mobilize, encouraging a higher turnout, especially among young people? Several polls, including one conducted a few months ago by L’Economiste-Sunergia, confirm young people’s disinterest in politics. At least, disinterest in “the way it is currently practiced”. However, if young people remain on the sidelines, the voice of a whole section of society will continue to be ignored.

In the latest Throne Speech, His Majesty the King gave His directives for “the next legislative election to be carefully prepared”. Now it is up to political parties to play the game. Especially since the ills of political practice are widely known: closed parties, worn-out elites, apparatchiks waiting for their “piece of the pie”, recycled election promises, and other ills…

By dint of operating in a vacuum, most parties sometimes find themselves out of touch with societal changes and the new realities of our youth. And when politics ceases to speak to young people, young people cease to talk about politics, at least via the ballot box, because they remain very aware of political developments, which they comment on, evaluate, and criticize… on social media.

Today, there is no longer any point in burying our heads in the sand: if parties do not change, they will soon become simply useless. The urgency is stark: renewing faces, dusting off the discourse… Young people want concrete action and clear discourse that “speaks” to them. The parties that understand this have a chance of surviving.