In mature democracies, as we want to see ours, elections it’s almost a routine thing. Often held on weekdays rather than Sundays – in many countries they are not even holidays – the main political parties usually share basic principles, rules and policies. The change of parties in power, variations of government coalitions are fixed, predictable, dedramatized processes.

Even after a wave of mass populism in Europe that has shaken or threatened political systems (see, for example, what is happening in Italy or France), behind these mature democracies there is a strong statehood that guarantees continuity and stability in life. citizens, the orientation of the country and efficiency in dealing with public affairs. Elections in our country, especially in recent years, are acquiring an existential dimension. Our political choices largely determine what our life will be like the next day and what the life of the next generation will be like.

In our forthcoming elections, this existential condition is once again at stake. Will we remain European-oriented in alliance with the West, or will we argue over whether to raisin the Ukrainian war while listening to Russian propaganda? Will we rely on science and research for public policy, or will we consult irresponsible charlatans and party insiders?

Will we respect institutions, or will we methodically usurp them? Should we impose an essential assessment (not a bureaucratic and pretentious one), but also a meritocracy in the state, or shall we give away public wealth to those who appropriated it and subordinated it to their private interest, threatening even our personal security? Will we finally conform in education to the international arena, or will we remain in the accustomed comfort of superficial mediocrity that masks fixation and entanglement mechanisms and is interrupted by embellished and justified scenes of violence? Will we respect evidence, evidence, facts, truth and reality, or will we invent alternative facts, brazenly and recklessly lie and stage distortions?

Unfortunately, the obvious choice from the above is not accepted by the majority of the parties participating in the elections, even declaratively. Thus, our own choices as citizens are highly ambiguous and limited.

And we decide not only the government, but also the basic, elementary conditions of our life. Faced with the specter of not a theoretical, but a real danger, we must take responsibility for the present and future of the country.

* Ms. Vaso Quinti is Professor of Philosophy at EKPA.