Representative democracy is one of the main identifiers of 21st-century Europe, but the perceptions of some citizens may be changing.
According to an About People survey commissioned by the think tank Progressive Lab and published by the news website Politico EU, 76% of Greeks expressed dissatisfaction with how democracy works in their country, as did 68% in France and 66% in Romania.
In the other two countries where the survey was conducted, the United Kingdom (42%) and Sweden (32%), dissatisfaction was lower.
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The study, conducted in these five countries between November and December 2025, also shows that although most citizens prefer democracy, 22% of respondents believe that certain types of dictatorship could be a better option, while 26% agreed with the statement: “If there was a capable and effective leader in my country, I wouldn’t mind if they limited democratic rights and were not accountable to the citizens for their actions”.
Commenting on the results, a professor at Democritus University of Thrace in Greece said that “the survey does not express a general dissatisfaction or an uncritical rejection of the democratic system”, but rather that citizens are expressing “dissatisfaction with the way it works, with clear anti-elite and anti-establishment characteristics”.
Although just under half (43%) of respondents said they trust the European Union, even fewer said they trust the media (27%) or political parties in their country (24%).
In addition, a third of all respondents do not consider the growth of far-right movements to be a threat to democracy in their countries.
Published in: Evangelical Focus – europe
– Two-thirds in Greece, France and Romania, dissatisfied with how democracy works, says survey