Maria Alonso |
Madrid (EFE).- On July 23, more than three million young people between the ages of 18 and 24 will be able to go to the polls, but, although some analysts affirm that their vote will be more decisive than in previous elections, others believe that their ballots will be as important as those of other age groups.
As Rafael Vázquez, professor of Political Theory at the University of Granada, assures EFE, the young vote will be more decisive due to the “adjusted” results that it seems that the left and right blocs will obtain.
The analysis of the professor of Political Science at UNED, Xavier Coller, goes in the same direction. “They will be relevant, although only if they are going to vote. Especially young people from non-privileged urban environments, who are supposed to vote for the left,” he explained to EFE.
On the contrary, the political scientist Manuel Mostaza affirms that the young vote will not be more decisive than that of people of middle or advanced age. “We are a very old country and, in addition to having few young people, they participate little in politics. The demography is what it is and older people participate more in elections,” he told EFE.
Nor does Sílvia Claveria, a professor of Political Science at the Carlos III University, consider that they will be decisive, because in addition to the demographic issue, we must add that the interest they had in politics a few years ago has declined and this, therefore, will lead to greater abstention.
More votes for the PSOE although they are the electoral niche of Vox
Regardless of the role that young people play in Sunday’s elections, the data from the last four CIS barometers and 40dB show that the majority of voters between the ages of 18 and 24 say they will vote for the PSOE (22%).
However, they are the age group that assures that they will give Vox the most ballots (13%).
According to Coller, the explanation for these figures lies in the non-conformist character of many young people and in their demands for change.
“For young people it is usually very important to position themselves against the ‘status quo’ and it is very probable that Vox appears to them as a transforming revolutionary party, in a certain sense as the Falange or the Communist Youth did. Young people played a very important role in those movements because they promised a different society”, affirms the political scientist.
Young people like Pablo, a 24-year-old computer engineer who works in Granada, agree with this reflection.
“Despite having an idOn July 23, more than three million young people between the ages of 18 and 24 will be able to go to the polls, but, although some analysts affirm that their vote will be more decisive than in previous elections, others believe that their ballot papers will be as important as those of other age groups. Conservative ideology, it seems to me that Vox is very different from the rest of the parties and breaks with how politics currently stands. It is transformative because many of its measures imply great changes, regardless of whether seen as something good or bad,” the computer scientist told EFE.
According to Coller, this transformation does not have to be towards “progress”, but can go “in a certain sense, backwards”.
Electoral proposals and “instinctive” voting
The professor of Political Theory at the University of Granada tells EFE that all the candidates have appealed directly to the young vote in their speeches, although they are doing so in an electoralist manner.
“Many of these parties are not making appeals with substantial measures. On the other hand, they have, for example, for pensioners, who represent a greater number of voters and have lower abstention rates,” says Vázquez.
The political scientist also affirms that the left has more firm proposals -such as the PSOE Cultural Bonus or the universal inheritance of Sumar-, while the right-wing parties are carrying out an “instinctive appeal” to get votes by awakening feelings of homeland or national identity.
Housing, its main claim
According to the “Break the glass” survey, carried out by the Youth Council with the opinion of more than 6,200 young people between the ages of 14 and 30, 74% of those surveyed believe that housing policy should be the main priority for the next government.
Other demands are the improvement of working conditions (67%), the adoption of measures in mental health (46%) or the climate crisis (31%).
As the survey shows, 89% of young people say they are interested in politics -55% say they feel “very interested” and 34% “somewhat interested”-, but they do not believe that politicians are interested in them.
High abstention figures because they do not feel represented
The “Rompe el cristal” study shows that six out of ten young people do not feel represented in the Spanish political system.
In addition, according to the CIS -and as stated by all the analysts consulted by EFE-, young voters are the ones with the lowest participation.
Esperanza, 19, tells EFE that, although politics is “very important” to her, she feels quite disappointed by politicians and that is the reason why she will not go to vote on 23J.
“I feel that politicians forget that their work affects the lives of people who look to the future. I also think that they are doing a lot of ‘posturing’ politics, because they all launch attacks and empty speeches that are based on hatred of the other, instead of defending solid proposals that take young people into account,” he stresses.
An unlikely mobilization for 23J
According to the analyst Xavier Coller, young people are the ones who go to the polls the least because they have a “big problem of disbelief in democracy.”
Furthermore, he does not believe that the 23J elections are an exception compared to other elections and that they go to the polls more than usual.
“Mobilizing young people and, also in summer, it is complicated. It is the great challenge that the matches have in the remainder of the campaign, but I do not think that on 23J there is any special reason to think that they are going to mobilize more,” he concludes.