18-year-old Jason Torrisi Lundqvist stands at the front of Polhemskolan's hall in Lund in connection with the election debate at the school.
- It is word for word and quite chaotic, he says.
One of Sweden's largest high schools will hold school elections. The day before, 800 graduating students gathered for a traditional debate.
On stage, representatives of the Riksdag parties' youth association debate taxes and climate.
Jason Torrisi Lundqvist sits in the audience and checks the facts.
Afterwards, he stays behind with two classmates from the top science programs to talk to the politicians.
- We have had the computers up the whole time. There was some incorrect information that was easy to just look up, says Jason Torrisi Lundqvist.
Julia Righetti on the technology program thinks the debate was good. Now she is more sure of how to vote.
- When you hear the politicians talk, you get a bigger picture and can form your own opinion, she says.
On Sunday, September 13, close to half a million first-time voters will be able to vote in a general election for the first time. Before that, some of them get to practice in the school election organized by the Authority for Youth and Civil Society Affairs, MUCF.
This year, roughly 1,700 junior and senior high schools across Sweden are participating. This corresponds to six out of ten schools and around 100 more than at the 2022 election.
- It is positive that participation is increasing. At the same time, it is a bit incomprehensible that not everyone is on board, says Magnus Jägerskog, director general at MUCF.
He believes that there are several reasons why some schools opt out, such as lack of time and that school selection is held for a short period when many other things are also going on.
At the same time, he says that the choice of school plays an important role.
- We know that the interest in democracy and the probability that you will vote in the general elections increases if you can practice casting your vote, he says.
The proportion of Swedes who are involved in party politics has decreased in recent decades. In the last parliamentary election, young people's turnout decreased for the first time in 20 years, and according to a report from the MUCF, only one in five young people believes that they have great opportunities to present their views to those who decide.
According to Niklas Bolin, professor of political science at Mittuniversitetet, the reduced commitment makes it more difficult to recruit the politicians of the future.
- In this way, it is good if we can tear down walls between young people and the politically active, he says.
In a recent study, he shows that municipal high schools are significantly more likely to invite politicians than independent schools - something that risks creating an unequal education.
- It is not that the democratic schooling of young people stands and falls with party visits, but it is a lost chance, he says.
At Polhemskolan in Lund, both school elections, political debates and election vigils are organized before the parliamentary elections.
Social studies teacher Anders Hallerhed sees it as one of his most important tasks to increase interest in and commitment to democratic issues.
- Democracy is under pressure in large parts of the world. More young people are questioning whether democracy is the best form of government. Therefore, it is extremely important to increase commitment to politics and democracy, he says.
In the auditorium, several students think that the political debate fulfills a function.
- There is a lot of talk on social media. But you don't know what is right. Therefore, it is good that the school helps to clarify, says Julia Righetti.
For her, the school is the most important election issue.
- And the climate. It's getting quite urgent to act now, she says.
Jakub Turkiewicz attends the science program and has taken the opportunity to ask questions to the debating politicians. One of them is about whether it is worth raising the price of petrol when the world at large is not doing enough for the climate.
- Is it worth lowering our standard of living as long as the big environmental criminals such as Pakistan, China and the USA do not also make a change?
Jakub Turkiewicz does not think that any of the parties could answer the question. However, he was inspired by their rhetoric and is now considering becoming active in party politics himself.
- I agree with the Christian Democrats on a lot and think their rhetoric was the best in the debate.
Classmate Erjon Kycyku is already a member of a party - but it was so recently that he doesn't want to say which one. Before the election, he spent a whole day studying politics with a friend.
- We went through the most important issues and used various AI services to find out what the parties want. For me, climate, welfare and economy are most important, he says.
