Worl Forum for Democracy 2025

5 November 2025, Strasbourg, France

Speech by Theodoros Rousopoulos

President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

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The old miners used to work deep underground, in darkness and danger. Every day they faced the risk of collapse, of toxic air, of death. Their survival depended on two things: on the pillars that carried the burden of an unstable ceiling — and on one another. They knew that a single mistake could bring down the whole mine. So they planned together, trusted each other, and worked in coordination. Their safety was not an individual matter; it was a shared responsibility.

Among the simple tools they used for protection, there was one that was both fragile and vital — a small canary in a cage. The canary did not sing for beauty’s sake. It was there because it was the first to sense the poison in the air. When the bird stopped singing, the miners knew that something was wrong — that danger was near.

Today, democracy itself is our mine. And we are all miners — working, arguing, sometimes shouting, but sharing the same underground space. The pillars that hold the structure are trust, solidarity, and accountability. When one breaks — when trust collapses, when disinformation spreads, when dialogue gives way to division — the whole structure trembles.

And who are the canaries of our democratic world? It is our youth. They are the first to feel that the air has become toxic — when politics becomes cynical, when institutions fail to listen, when ideals are replaced by fear or manipulation. They stop “singing” — not because they are indifferent, but because they cannot breathe in an atmosphere that no longer feels honest or fair.

If we lose their voice, we lose our warning signal. If we silence their hope, we risk the collapse of the whole structure.

Our task, as leaders, citizens, and institutions, is not only to protect the pillars of democracy, but to listen to the canaries — to those who feel first that something is wrong. To give them the trust they need, and to deserve the trust they offer.

Let us therefore rebuild that trust. Let us make participation meaningful, dialogue open, and equality real.

Because democracy, like a mine, cannot survive without oxygen — and oxygen, in our time, is trust.

If we preserve it, the canary will keep singing. And where there is song, there is still life — and there is still hope for democracy.

Thank you.