Belgrade, Bratislava, or indeed any European city where democracy is perceived to be under threat, consistently attracts crowds—mostly comprising young, dissatisfied citizens. Despite the distinctiveness of each nation, these demonstrations share common characteristics. Striking slogans such as ”We refuse to drag our country eastward,” or calls for decency in politics, dominate the discourse. However emotion-laden these slogans may seem, they frequently conceal an intellectual emptiness, appealing more to the imagination than offering substance.
Take, for instance, the slogan "”We don't want Slovakia dragged East.”" What exactly does this imply? For many from the former Eastern Bloc, such slogans instinctively evoke fears of a communist resurgence. But today's Russia is no longer a communist country. In recent Russian parliamentary elections, the Communist Party secured just 13.1% of the vote. Although it remains the strongest opposition to President Putin, it is far from reinstating communism in Russia, let alone exporting it to Eastern Europe.Though Russia undoubtedly remains imperialist, one must question whether it truly understands itself. Defining Russia’s intentions then becomes a complicated matter.
Similar ambiguity surrounds the demand for “decency,” essentially a hollow catchphrase. Decency represents a style rather than a moral compass—it can quietly cloak dishonesty and theft. It is a vague moral assumption devoid of clear normative boundaries, yet it can forge a societal framework dividing the ”decent” from the ”indecent.” This simplistic dichotomy easily morphs into a division between good and evil. Yet, in our postmodern world, traditional categories of good and evil have largely lost their coherence.
However, it is insufficient merely to highlight the emptiness of these slogans,while the demonstrations in which they are chanted possess genuine strength, rooted in real frustration.
Worse Off Than Our Parents
The economic realities facing people under forty are undeniably grim. Gone are the prosperous days of the early 2000s, when Europe's GDP growth reached around 3.9%. Since the 2008 crisis, Europe has experienced years of sluggish growth, exacerbated by recent inflation. Europe's cumulative inflation rate between 2021 and 2024 reached approximately 22.4%. In countries affected by protests, such as Slovakia and Serbia, inflation rates were even higher—31.8% in Slovakia and 36.4% in Serbia.
