Greeks most dissatisfied with how democracy functions, five-country survey finds
"The “Democracy Survey,” conducted by aboutpeople on behalf of Progressive Lab in Greece, France, Sweden, Romania and the United Kingdom, gathered responses from 5,043 eligible voters between November 25 and December 16, 2025.
While strong majorities in all five countries agree that there is no better system than democracy — including 78.8% in Greece — satisfaction with its functioning is significantly lower. Only 22.7% of Greeks say they are satisfied with how democracy works in their country, the lowest rate recorded. Dissatisfaction in Greece is particularly high regarding corruption and the functioning of the justice system.
Across all countries, citizens express limited trust in institutions, with the European Union receiving the highest level of confidence at just 42.9%. Respondents also identify political parties’ failure to serve the public interest, the influence of powerful economic interests and weak accountability as major problems.
Although anti-parliamentary views remain a minority, they are present in all five countries. Nearly seven in ten respondents (68.9%) reject the idea of an effective leader who would violate democratic rules, yet a notable minority does not dismiss such a possibility.
Pessimism about the future is widespread, particularly in Greece and France, with large majorities believing that younger generations will live worse than their parents. Greeks also report the lowest levels of satisfaction with their personal financial situation.
Commenting on the findings, Professor Dimitris Papadimitriou of the University of Manchester said Greece appears to balance uneasily between a deep crisis of trust in institutions and a persistent — though abstract — belief in democratic ideals.
Filippos Sachinidis, former finance minister and coordinator of Progressive Lab’s Scientific Council, warned that the assumption democracy is guaranteed has proven illusory. He stressed that political parties must reform and reconnect with citizens to defend democratic governance against mounting threats.
Pessimism about the future emerges clearly from at least two survey questions. Specifically, 59.9% of Greeks, 55.4% of French respondents, 44.9% of Swedes, 43.9% of Romanians and 41.6% of Britons believe their generation is worse off than their parents’.
Similarly, 72.9% of Greeks and 70.4% of French respondents think that today’s children aged 10–17 will live worse lives than their own generation, followed by 57.9% of Swedes, 54.5% of Romanians and 52.5% of Britons.
Satisfaction with current personal financial circumstances is also low, particularly in Greece, where only 15.7% say they are satisfied. The respective figures stand at 28.7% in Romania, 35% in Sweden, 44.5% in France and 57.2% in the United Kingdom.
