LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Let's take a closer look at the protests across Europe with Alberto Alemanno. He's a professor at HEC Paris and a former democracy fellow at Harvard's Kennedy School. He joins us now from Paris. Good morning, and welcome to the program.
ALBERTO ALEMANNO: Good morning. Good morning, everyone.
FADEL: So we just heard about protests led by young people from Portugal to Albania and how many of the specific issues that are motivating them are different. This is not one movement, but what unites them?
ALEMANNO: Well, you are certainly right in suggesting that what set off these youth protests across Europe really varied by country. But over the past week or so, we have all realized that these protests have morphed into a broader expression of discontent, which seems to suggest some generational angst about the future. And this is what is uniting the protests today, which are no longer a prerogative of the youth. But they have clearly transcended beyond the youth, with trade unions, with middle-class people joining the protests and sometimes even the riots, which have been characterizing some of these protests across Europe.
FADEL: Now, in Serbia, the protests had a tangible win. They voted in a new government. What lessons can be learned from them?
ALEMANNO: Well, I would say that we need to pay attention not to read too much in this victory in Serbia. Serbia has been undergoing a major political transformation in the past two years, when, after an accident in Novi Sad due to the corruption of the government and local authorities, the youth and the students have organized to the point of deciding to run for elections. And this is very - a very different game because this is basically a transformation of a protest into a very organized political force that basically controls half of the new parliament in Belgrade. This is not what we're seeing in other countries.
So clearly, we're looking at a very different phenomenon where basically the youth movement has transformed itself into a political party and which has been joining a broader, I would say, anti-government protest in the name of accountability and anti-corruption. I think the closest example to Serbia is Albania, where also we've been seeing, in the past few months, a major demand not only by the youth, but by the entire society to get rid of a pretty autocratic president like Edi Rama, who has been, you know, dealing with major investors, including those related to the Trump administration, as what - as basically a spark for this movement.
So we - what we have been seeing in Serbia could actually go beyond, in Albania. But this does not mean that all the other capitals of Europe and all the other movements will be able to turn themselves into political party. These - it's very far. So there are different cycles. There are different...
FADEL: Yeah.
ALEMANNO: ...stages, I think, of development of these protests. And we really have to be cautious in talking about a single coordinated movement because this is not a reality yet. But it is used oftentimes by the ultra-left and the super-far-right as a - as an attempt at weakening Europe, making Europe look weak, as it were, entirely in flame. I don't think it's in flame. I think most of these protests happen still in peaceful demonstrations. They are an expression of the freedom of expression and assembly, which is still guaranteed in Europe.
FADEL: You mention that this is an expression of generational angst about the lack of future promises for them. How can European leaders answer these demands for more public spending, for a different future for these young people?
ALEMANNO: Yes. I think today we have been seeing the issue of housing and affordability very high in the concerns of the youth and general population. Housing has become increasingly unaffordable, with public services under pressure. And also, the transition into the secure employment is uncertain.
So if you look at data, Eurostat reports that EU house pricing rose by 55% and rents by 30% between 2010 and 2024, so basically doubled down. And we also have youth studies suggesting that 52% of the young people aged 16, 26 across seven European countries now are expected to be worse off than their parents. Youth unemployment in the euro area also continue to be very high and is basically leading this sentiment of uncertainty to dominate also across universities, where students are also facing the AI - let's say, AI dystopian future as curtailing their own ability to find a proper job once they're going to be done with their studies, in a way which is...
FADEL: Yeah.
ALEMANNO: ...Not so dissimilar from what happened to United States.
FADEL: Alberto Alemanno is a professor at HEC Paris and a former democracy fellow at Harvard's Kennedy School. Thank you so much for your time and for your insights.
ALEMANNO: Thank you for having me.
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