By Meletus EZE
Germany’s Bertelsmann Foundation on Monday cited a survey carried out under its opinions project that two-thirds of Europeans believe that the world used to be a better place.
According to the survey, which polled 10,855 citizens in five member states of the European Union (EU), 67 per cent of respondents hold the above-mentioned belief, and they were grouped as the nostalgic.
The survey further found that those Europeans who are nostalgic are often more right-wing policy supporters than non-nostalgic counterparts, and they are also generally much more critical of immigration.
It noted that the majority of nostalgic citizens, 53 per cent, are convinced that immigrants “take jobs away” from the locals.
“Meanwhile, 78 per cent of them even agree with the statement that immigrants do not want to integrate themselves into society.
“For their non-nostalgic counterparts, only a minority of 30 per cent believe that immigration will lose jobs for a few,’’ it added.
According to the survey, fighting terrorism is the biggest priority for 60 per cent of those who feel nostalgic, while 47 per cent for those who are not nostalgic.
“In terms of country differences, while 77 per cent of Italians think that the world used to be a better place, 65 per cent of the French.
“Sixty-one per cent of Germans, 64 per cent of Spaniards and 59 per cent of Poles think the same,’’ the survey revealed.
The statement of the survey results said, nostalgia is a powerful political tool.
References to a better past are skillfully employed by populist political entrepreneurs to fuel dissatisfaction with present-day politics and anxiety about the future.
