![\"Young](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/14083-2026-08-13t050009z_1377717023_rc29whajguxg_rtrmadp_3_italy-meloni-youth.jpg\")
Young demonstrators show a banner depicting Italy\u2019s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wearing a military helmet, covered in red handprints, during the \u201cNo-Meloni day\u201d rally in Rome, November 14, 2025. (REUTERS)<\/p>\nItalian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is facing a growing challenge ahead of the 2027 national election \u2014 younger voters are increasingly turning away from her government. Her right-wing coalition has less than 30 per cent support among voters under 35, compared with almost 50 per cent for the centre-left opposition, news agency Reuters reported, citing Youtrend polling.<\/p>\n
The figures have put Italy\u2019s younger electorate, including Gen Z voters, in focus ahead of what is expected to be a closely fought election.<\/p>\n
\u201cYounger voters are clearly leaning towards the centre-left,\u201d Lorenzo Pregliasco, head of the Youtrend polling agency, told Reuters.<\/p>\n
The youth vote could prove decisive if younger Italians turn out in larger numbers than they traditionally have.<\/p>\n
Why are young Italians unhappy with Meloni?<\/p>\n
Analysts link the growing dissatisfaction among younger voters to a lack of economic reforms aimed at improving their opportunities.<\/p>\n
Since taking office in 2022, Meloni has done little on the economic front to address some of the problems facing young people, analysts told Reuters. Lorenzo De Sio, a political science professor at Rome\u2019s Luiss University, said the government\u2019s lack of significant economic reforms was a key reason for young people\u2019s hostility towards it.<\/p>\n
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Young demonstrators show a banner depicting Italy\u2019s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wearing a military helmet, covered in red handprints, during the \u201cNo-Meloni day\u201d rally in Rome, November 14, 2025. (REUTERS)<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is fine if you benefit from the status quo, but very bad for those least protected by it, which often means young people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Italy has the lowest employment rate among<\/a> people aged 15 to 24 in the 21-member euro zone, according to Eurostat data cited by Reuters. The country also spends less on education than almost all its euro-zone partners.<\/p>\n The wage gap is another concern. A young graduate in Germany earns, on average, about 80 per cent more than a comparable Italian graduate, according to the Bank of Italy.<\/p>\n Italy is also losing young graduates to other countries. The Bank of Italy has said more than 100,000 young graduates left the country between 2020 and 2024.<\/p>\n Story continues below this ad<\/p>\n These concerns are reflected in Meloni\u2019s approval figures. Only 25 per cent of voters under 35 approve of her government, compared with 35 per cent among the population as a whole, according to Youtrend.<\/p>\n .<\/p>\n World \u00b7 Europe \u00b7 Analysis<\/p>\n Meloni’s poll challenge<\/p>\n Giorgia Meloni’s coalition is strong in the polls overall \u2014 but among Italians under 35 it is falling behind, a gap analysts say could matter in 2027.<\/p>\n 1 \u00b7 The under-35 vote<\/p>\n Voting support among under-35s (polling)<\/p>\n Meloni’s coalition<\/p>\n under 30%<\/p>\n Centre-left opposition<\/p>\n ~50%<\/p>\n 25%<\/p>\n of under-35s approve of the government \u2014 against 35% of the population overall.<\/p>\n 2 \u00b7 Why young Italians are unhappy<\/p>\n .<\/p>\n Jobs & opportunities<\/p>\n Little economic gain for the young<\/p>\n .<\/p>\n Lower wages<\/p>\n Weak pay prospects<\/p>\n .<\/p>\n Migration & security<\/p>\n Law-and-order measures<\/p>\n Reasons cited by analysts and reflected in polling \u2014 not an exhaustive or ranked list.<\/p>\n 3 \u00b7 Where are young voters going?<\/p>\n Young Italians (under 35)<\/p>\n .<\/p>\n Turning away from Meloni’s coalition<\/p>\n It isn’t a simple left-vs-right story \u2014 they scatter three ways<\/p>\n \u2199<\/p>\n Centre-left<\/p>\n Their main destination<\/p>\n \u2193<\/p>\n Far right<\/p>\n Vannacci’s National Future draws some<\/p>\n \u2198<\/p>\n Stay home<\/p>\n Abstention, historically high<\/p>\n 4 \u00b7 The 2027 question<\/p>\n National election \u00b7 2027<\/p>\n Could young voters decide the election?<\/p>\n 2023<\/p>\n Masked<\/p>\n Youth disaffection was hidden by low turnout \u2014 many simply didn’t vote<\/p>\n 2026 referendum<\/p>\n 67%<\/p>\n Under-35 turnout \u2014 a sign of what youth mobilisation can do<\/p>\n If young Italians turn out in large numbers in 2027, analysts say, they could be decisive in a race that looks neck-and-neck.<\/p>\n Sources: Reuters \u00b7 Youtrend polling (Lorenzo Pregliasco) \u00b7 Lorenzo De Sio, Luiss University. Figures are polling estimates; the 2027 outcome is an analysts’ projection, not a certainty.<\/p>\n .<\/p>\n The shift is even sharper when compared with 2023. Meloni\u2019s Brothers of Italy party alone then enjoyed roughly the same level of support among young voters as her entire three-party coalition does now, according to Youtrend polling cited by Reuters.<\/p>\n Young Italian men and women are split<\/p>\n The political divide among younger Italians is also shaped by gender, a pattern seen in several other European countries.<\/p>\n Young men are more inclined to support right-wing parties, while young women are more likely to back the left, according to a Bocconi University study based on polling data from SWG.<\/p>\n Story continues below this ad<\/p>\n Brothers of Italy had the support of 15 per cent of men aged 18 to 29, compared with just 4.2 per cent of women in the same age group.<\/p>\n
![\"Young](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/13083-2026-08-13t050016z_294031974_rc28wha8uhlg_rtrmadp_3_italy-meloni-youth.jpg\")
Young demonstrators protest against Italy\u2019s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on the occasion of a \u201cNo-Meloni day\u201d rally in Rome, Italy, November 14, 2025. (REUTERS)<\/p>\n