Generation Z, the young men and women born from the late 1990s to the early 2010s, is not merely the country’s next electoral reservoir. It is both the mirror of a deep institutional crisis and the most decisive opportunity for the renewal of Greek democracy.
This is the generation that grew up amid the economic crisis, the collapse of social mobility, and the mass emigration of young scientists and professionals. Most experienced their coming of age under conditions of precariousness: low wages, expensive housing, and an uncertain future. For many, democracy became associated not with opportunities, but with constant insecurity. Thus, a generation has taken shape that is politically skeptical and institutionally distrustful.
Particularly troubling are the findings of a study by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, according to which roughly one in four young people in Europe — and in Greece as well — say they could accept an authoritarian form of governance, provided it is deemed effective. In Greece, this percentage is directly linked to a pervasive sense of injustice, the absence of social mobility, and deep disappointment with meritocracy and the functioning of the state. This amounts to an acceptance of dictatorial logic as an instrumental solution—an extremely dangerous social and political phenomenon that paves the way for demagogues who combine populist practices with nationalist, rather than patriotic, rhetoric.
This anti-political protest, however, is not the end of democracy. It is its warning bell. If transformed into participation, it can become the strongest wave of institutional renewal that post-junta Greece has ever seen. Young Greeks are not only asking to be heard. They are asking for justice, rules that are actually enforced, meritocracy, affordable housing, functional public services, meaningful participation, and a state that treats them as stakeholders rather than as clients.
The degree of responsibility borne by today’s political leadership is decisive. If it persists in management without vision, rhetoric without sincerity, and participation that is merely for show, then the new generation’s alienation will deepen. If, however, it chooses to open up institutions, integrate the younger generation into decision-making, and invest in civic education, digital democracy, and substantive consultation, then anti-political protest can be transformed into active democratic participation.
Especially weighty is the responsibility of today’s leaderships in view of the forthcoming revision of the Constitution. This is the last major opportunity for the country’s institutional reconstruction through a deep and bold institutional transformation that will respond directly and unequivocally to the needs of the times and the demands of younger generations. Such a revision can — and must — become the most substantial legacy of the post-1974 generations to the next generation of citizens.
Gen Z does not threaten democracy. It tests it. And through this test, it may save it.