Youth in Poland: Outlook on Life and Political Attitudes

Today’s young people in Central and Eastern Europe are the first cohort with­out direct experience of the socialist system. For those in Poland, the opportu­nities of the free market, free movement within the EU, and democratic stand­ards have become the norm. Thousands of young Poles regularly take to the streets, not only to demand higher wages and improved working conditions for doctors or teachers, but also to protest against the judicial reforms that the governing Law and Justice (PiS) party undertook in 2017. At the same time, more Polish youth than expected voted for PiS in local elections in 2018.