Italy’s Frustration and Disheartenment Quantified by Eurispes’ Latest Study

According to the Italy Report 2012 published by Eurispes (European Institute of Political, Economic, and Social Studies), almost 60% of young Italians are ready to move abroad to start a new life.

"I think therefore I protest"

"Future is not the same anymore"

59.8% of the interviewees between the ages 18 and 34 and 57,1% of those aged 25 to 34 wouldn’t hesitate to leave Italy. The percentage of Italians willing to relocate abroad is lower among the interviewees aged 35 to 44, 45.2% of which would leave the country. The figure drops to 35% for the 45-64 age group, and it’s the lowest among the interviewees over 65 years of age, only 20.5% of which would still move abroad.

When Italians are asked to elaborate on the reasons why they would leave their homeland, 22.9% mentions the availability of better employment opportunities in other countries, 14.1% refers to better opportunities in general and 11.8% believe the cost of life would be lower abroad.

63.2% of Italians are often or always discouraged about the country’s overall situation. 57.7% feel helpless and believe that their actions have little or no power to reverse the critical condition of their nation. One third of the interviewees declare they never feel optimistic or serene when judging Italy’s present state.

Most of the interviewees are not willing to personally engage in attempts of ameliorating the situation, 59.6% of them in fact feel “not” or “scarcely” motivated to do so, 30% feel quite motivated and only 8.3% of them are “very” motivated. Even so, 53.1% of the interviewees believe that sacrifices must be done to overcome the present moment of crisis -- 41.3% are quite convinced of their future effectiveness, and 11.8% are strongly convinced about it – but the percentage of skeptical Italians is still 45%.

The majority of Italians don’t feel represented by any political party, and among those who feel this way, 73.2% also feel constantly discouraged about the future.

The feelings of discontent and disheartenment are particularly diffused among young Italians, 75% of the interviewees between the ages of 25 and 34 in fact state that they “always” or “most of the time” feel discouraged about their future in Italy. 58.9% of the Italians aged 18 to 24 share this feeling, and 60.7% of them feel  “always” or “most of the time” impotent about the situation.

Surprisingly, the most optimistic interviewees are the ones residing in Southern and Insular Italy, where the percentages of people feeling “always” or “oftentimes” positive about the current state of Italy and its future are consistently high.