Prague, Oct 18 (CTK) – No new ideas have been appearing in politics and political parties are becoming alike, which discourages young people from active participation in political life, former Czech foreign minister Karel Schwarzenberg (TOP 09) said at the Forum 2000 international conference on Tuesday.
He pointed to the low turnout in the Czech regional and Senate elections earlier this months. First of all, young people did not cast their votes, he said.
Political parties are so similar that it is hard to say what the right wing and the left wing is and people can see no reason for getting involved, Schwarzenberg said.
This disinterest is bad for society, he said.
“Old politicians have been stying in politics long and young ones who would be forcing them out have not been arriving. This does not seem good to me,” said Schwarzenberg, 78, who was minister until 2013 and chairman of TOP 09, a pro-European liberal conservative party, until 2015.
It is young people who should introduce new ideas in politics, he said.
“In the past, all revolutions were launched by student movements,” Schwarzenberg said, giving the 1989 Velvet Revolution in the former Czechoslovakia as an example.
“We can see a crisis development all over Europe, but there is no student movement. For the first time in history, students seem to be focusing exclusively on their studies and on entertainment during their holidays,” he said, showing disapproval.
He said the latest new political idea was the green movement 50 years ago. Parties only keep repeating old issues that do not correspond to the needs of the present society, he added.
