What attracts young people to the ballot box?

Political education as a private initiative: young people at the political party bazaar in Bern. With this event, the organisation 'discuss it' wants to inform young people in Switzerland about democracy. SRF

Are young people interested in politics in Switzerland? And if so, in which topics exactly? Democracy expert Stefanie Bosshard shows the current state of research.

As former executive director of the umbrella organisation of Swiss youth parliaments, Bosshard, the managing director of the Swiss Democracy Foundation, knows how young people in Switzerland feel about politics and democracy.

SWI swissinfo.ch: Are young people interested in politics at all?

Stefanie Bosshard: According to studies, around 50% of the young people surveyed are rather or even very interested in politics. This applies to both Swiss and global politics.

SWI: What topics are young people interested in?

S.B.: According to the surveys, climate policy is currently at the top of the list. This is followed by issues around discrimination and racism. Politics abroad is a bit more in focus than Swiss domestic politics. Equal rights for men and women is also of interest. What’s exciting is that these are topics that are not normally at the top of the political agenda in the federal parliament but that involve more points of contact for young people.

SWI: Why are half of young people not interested in politics?

S.B.: Not much research has been done into this. Looking at it positively, one could of course assume that young people in Switzerland have it very good. They have no need at all to change anything. Critically, one really has to say that in Switzerland young people very often come into contact with politics or with democratic processes very late.

SWI: What is needed to promote interest in politics among young people? What needs to change?

S.B.: It starts with an older generation showing respect and trust to a younger generation that their opinion is important, that they can contribute their opinion, and that people also dare to make this leap across the generation gap. It’s also important that young people receive a good political education. That is certainly a very big opportunity for Switzerland, the strengthening of democracy education. Because if you don’t understand how a democratic system works, it’s difficult to participate in it.