Central European political malaise

Despite fast economic expansion in central Europe, researchers Pawel Swieboda and Scott Salembier note a political malaise. "Economic transformation may have done the trick but the same cannot be said for the political dimension. ... A grave problem in central Europe is the state of political culture. Civic participation remains low and patchy. Party membership lists are short, policy debate is modest. Unsurprisingly, this generates a vicious circle. The poor quality of public discourse discourages people from joining the fray, which in turn limits the inflow of fresh ideas, putting off people anew. ... Brussels cannot be the only place where EU issues are discussed. People in central Europe have to realise that the genuine challenges lie in the fields of demography, migration, energy and innovation. These issues cannot be solved by the petty politics of the day."

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