Emily Wunsch expresses the anger of other younger people in Germany when the 21-year-old views the political mainstream as distant and out of reach. She said while refilling bowls at an East German espresso shop where she works,” I feel like what matters to me isn’t a concern for most lawmakers- or for other electors.”
The frustration of Germany’s children is a key theme away of Sunday’s election as they’re drifting to the left and right border. As the next state attempts to revive growth and stabilize the social system, with policies that may appear at their expense, that polarization creates possible instability. Because of Germany’s aging people, young people face stress to pay for the retirement and medical costs of thousands of seniors.
At the same time, the democratic strength of Germany’s youth is fairly limited. Nearly 60 % of voters are over 50, while less than 15 % are under the age of 30. Youth election membership has increased rapidly since 2009, demonstrating that young people are increasingly demanding their tones. However, the figure is also slightly below average at 71 %. However, more younger people are being pushed out of the center by higher politicisation and thoughts of being ignored.
The Left group, with roots in East Germany’s socialists, has been the main recipient. But the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, has likewise successfully tapped into the discomfort, and that’s not exclusive to Germany. In the 2024 European surveys, 32 % of French voters under 35 backed the far-right National Rally- nearly twice the 17 % who voted for the AfD in Germany.
Fresh Germans are also less sensitive to the atrocities of the Nazis than older years, and they are more willing to look back on past comments from AfD leaders as a rip-off of the Holocaust. Rather, the main goal is to regain national confidence and security.
AfD dominates these programs, and over half of German under-25s receive their political news from social advertising.
Financial worries are strong in the countryside and in the east of Germany, where job losses and hardship also occur as a result of reunification.
