Do Lonely People in Europe Show Less Political Solidarity? Novel Comparative Survey Evidence from Seven European Countries in 2026

One of the most profound social changes in contemporary Europe is the high prevalence of loneliness, which has gained renewed attention due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Loneliness has been shown to have negative consequences, such as poorer physical and mental health and reduced interpersonal trust, but its impact on political systems remains underexplored. Does loneliness also errode political trust and solidarity? This paper presents a novel comparative random-sample survey from an ERC-funded survey of seven European countries with very different welfare states (DE, ES, FR, HR, IT, PL, SE) in 2026. It analytically describes patterns of loneliness and political solidarity, the individual willingness to shoulder costs of public redistribution for other people, across regions and nations. It explores patterns of co-variation between loneliness and solidarity and proposes causal explanations. The findings allow our better understanding of the dynamics of social change and its political implications.