Nina Skocak's TikTok videos are viewed hundreds of thousands of times. The young make-up and vintage fashion expert hopes her popularity will win her a seat in the European Parliament on Sunday, AFP wrote on Thursday.

Skocak is leading the first independent Gen Z electoral list in Croatia, which includes 12 candidates between the ages of 19 and 30.

“This is an experiment to see if it’s even possible, because nobody has done it before,” Skocak told AFP.

Skocak’s Gen Z list collected 8,500 signatures

The 26-year-old’s expertise goes far beyond the 1940s fashion she regales her quarter of a million followers with on TikTok and Instagram. The journalism and political science graduate with a master’s degree in European politics started as an intern at the European Parliament in 2022.

She now works on promoting the European research programme Horizon for scientists trying to make big breakthroughs.

Skocak announced her candidacy via social media and her supporters helped her quickly collect the 5,000 signatures needed to register. “We did not use traditional methods,” she told AFP.

“Instead, we went to cafés and bars and collected signatures there. People came to have a drink and to give us a signature,” said the influencer.

Eventually, her Gen Z list collected 8,500 signatures, which was her first big success. “Young people today prefer their own channels over traditional party structures. We need to create other platforms and methods to appeal to them,” Skocak added.

“Skocak speaks the language that young people speak”

Skocak is not the first to try out his new campaign methods, said Marijana Grbesa, professor of political science at the University of Zagreb.

“There will be more of them, because the main message from young people is: ‘We do not want you to talk about us, we want you to talk to us,” she told AFP.

For Grbesa, the impression that young people are not interested in politics is only partly true. “They are not interested in politics in a way that politicians talk to them,” she added.

Skocak – who is polling in the single digits – said her campaign is as much about education as it is about voting. In her videos, she tries to explain the electoral process and urge her supporters to get involved in shaping the political landscape.

In the comments, many of her followers thank her for finally explaining how it all works and say they will definitely be voting for the first time thanks to her.

“Skocak speaks the language that young people speak. That’sa big plus. She is trying to mobilise young people,” said Grbesa.

According to surveys, young Croats have one of the lowest levels of knowledge about the EU.

“Young people are interested in the European elections traditional politics”

Seventy-one percent said they understand little or nothing about the EU, while the European average is 55 percent. This was the result of a Flash Eurobarometer survey for the European Parliament in 2021.

Skocak believes that young people are interested in the European elections but are frustrated with traditional politics and need some encouragement. There are currently only three MEPs under the age of 30 and Skocak sees the need for change.

“Young people bring a different perspective to politics. There is definitely a lack of that,” she argues.

Her Gen Z list of seven women and five men is the youngest in the European elections. Their manifesto focuses on youth participation in politics, internet safety, sustainable policies and women’s rights.

Skocak is determined to show that young people, especially young women, have a place in politics. Her independent list aims to counteract the shift to the right in Croatian politics. She is in favour of lowering the voting age to 16 and a youth quota in the European elections.

Croatia, which joined the EU in 2012, will elect 12 MEPs on Sunday, 9 June.

Skocak emphasised that social media can mobilise people in one day: “Maybe only a hundred people will goto the polls, but maybe a hundred thousand.”