Very few young people still have trust in the political class, and more than half are considering leaving Romania. According to sociologists, the results show their tendency to vote for newer political organizations.

Many young people share the same opinion. According to the IRES study, nine out of ten express distrust in the political class of our country. In other words, when a politician speaks, a young person expects to be lied to in nine out of ten instances. This explains, sociologists say, the voting intention of those aged between 18 and 35.

According to the data, over 65% of young people say they will make a change this year and will vote differently from previous years. 18% have the same voting option, while 16% are still undecided or have avoided answering.

Antonio Amuza, IRES sociologist: "This somehow opens the door to a voting intention towards those political organizations that have certainly built their electoral branding on an anti-establishment and populist message. In case this happens, it will be a collective exercise for parties that talk about reset but do not do it".

For young people, the most important elections are the presidential ones, followed by parliamentary, local and European parliamentary elections. When heading to the polls, the majority indicate they opt for the lesser evil, with only 39% showing interest in the candidate's profile or the party's activity.

At the same time, trust in state institutions is low. 63% of young people do not trust the President of Romania, and 58% do not trust the Government and Parliament.

Alexandru Manda, president of the initiative association "Tinerii Votează" (Young People Vote): "The democratic institutions governing the Romanian state are the institutions in which young Romanians have the least trust. In the first place is the university environment, with a lot of trust and much trust that has increased, in second place is the EU, in third place is the Romanian Army, and in fourth place is NATO".

Most young people, over 40%, get their information from social networks, 27% read online press, and 18% watch television.

Răzvan Petri, Center for Democracy and Good Governance association: "Furthermore, there is a noticeable absence of engagement from the government, as institutions fail to maintain a robust presence on social media platforms and communicate with young individuals using accessible language. Both political parties and state institutions have inactive social media accounts, leaving certain political factions to dominate this digital space".

Most young people believe they do not have enough opportunities for development in the labor market, the quality of education is poor, they face many financial shortcomings, and are concerned about drug and alcohol consumption in the country. At the same time, almost 70% are considering temporarily or permanently leaving the country.

The study was conducted on a random sample of 800 participants from both urban and rural areas, between March 9-14, with a maximum error margin of plus or minus 3.5%.