MICHAEL WALSH NEWS DESK Europeans don’t expect anything good and think democracy is dead, a survey reveals.

An overwhelming majority of EU citizens think their best years are behind them.

Life in Europe will only get harder in the future, according to a new poll. More than two-thirds want their leaders to pivot to nationalism and patriotism.

Some 63% of respondents agree that ’our best years are behind us,’. 77% believe life in their country ’will be harder for the next generation,’. A communications firm, FGS Global, carried out a survey of 23 EU countries.

Politico published the findings on Tuesday.

Overall, 65% of respondents said their country is ’heading in the wrong direction.  This sentiment is most prevalent in Central and Western Europe.

France is the most pessimistic country polled. 79% of respondents agree with this statement. Belgium follows with 74%, and Hungary is at 73%.

Only some citizens of Poland, Lithuania, and Denmark believe that things are going well, with Lithuanians the most optimistic. There, 38% feel that the country is heading in the wrong direction.’

The poll did not measure satisfaction with EU leadership in Brussels. However, 76% of those surveyed said democracy is in decline across Europe.

More than half said their country’s political system is failing the people. It ‘needs fundamental reform,’ rather than ‘works fairly well and doesn’t need significant reform.’

Most respondents want their leaders to pursue a more nationalist path. In fact, 71% say their countries should be more assertive of their national interests.

They believe this is important even if it creates friction with other countries.

To the east, the outlook is more positive. According to Russia’s independent Levada polling institute, 53% of Russians view the future ’calmly, with confidence.’ 

This number rises to 68% among 18-24-year-olds. Levada’s research has long been considered accurate and reliable internationally.

A 2024 Ipsos poll found that 86% of Chinese respondents feel optimistic about their country’s future.

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