Stability above all. At the antipodes of the sixty-eighters, the new generations of Germans no longer vote green and no longer aspire to a left-wing revolution. “They dream of a green house and a stable relationship,” summarizes Stephan Grünewald, co-founder of the Rheingold Institute, specializing in market research. Is it the fear of not being able to access this ideal that pushes more and more young people towards the conservative, or even reactionary, camp? According to the latest study on German youth, published by economist Simon Schnetzer last April, support for far-right ideas among young people aged 14 to 29 increased from 9% to 22% between 2022. and 2024. “People who feel threatened are more likely to vote AfD,” analyzes Kilian Hampel, the co-author of this study published annually since 2020.
The European elections confirmed these trends. Nearly 16% of 16 to 24 year olds gave their vote to the AfD (Alternative für Deutschland), an increase of 11 points compared to the 2019 election, according to polls by the Infratest-dimap institute. The expression of diffuse discontent or rejection of the government for some, but not only. More than 50% chose the extreme right “by conviction”. The shift to the right is general: 17% of young people also voted for the Christian Democratic Union (CDU/CSU).
After the health crisis and the war in Ukraine, young people have lost confidence in the future. “Covid-19 has fundamentally changed the way we see things,” the study concludes. The fight for the climate is no longer a mobilizing theme like in 2019, when German environmentalists achieved a historic score of 20% thanks to the younger generations. In the European elections, the Greens collapsed with 11% of the vote among those under 25, compared to 35% in 2019.
“The AfD has a monopoly on information on TikTok”
Economic and social issues now dominate the agenda. Migration policy has become a major theme for this generation. Only a quarter of adolescents are in favor of welcoming migrants (compared to 60% in 2019), convinced that the State favors refugees at the expense of other disadvantaged people.
Uncertain future, inflation, high cost of living… There are many reasons for anxiety. Exploited ad nauseam by the AfD on young people’s favorite social network: TikTok. Half of this generation is active on this platform, where the far right was omnipresent during the campaign. “Imagine a political party invited on all television channels and everywhere in the written press. You will ask me: but in which country do we live? Well it’s Germany. The AfD has a monopoly on information on TikTok”, analyzes Thorsten Faas, political scientist at the Free University of Berlin (FU).
The far-right populist party, which has links with neo-Nazi circles, is a hit on this network: its content is seen by three times more young people than that of all the other parties in the Bundestag combined. Excerpts from anti-migrant speeches before the Assembly are playing in a loop. What about the revelations about the deportation plans of the far right? The candidates’ questionable relationships with Russia and China? The arrest of a Chinese spy in the offices of the head of the list or the placing under observation of their party by the “protection of the constitution” (Verfassungsschutz) services? All of this is glossed over on TikTok, or interpreted by the AfD as “denigration”.
While Germany opened voting from the age of 16 for the first time in the European elections, the very controversial head of the AfD list, Maximilian Krah (excluded, after the vote, from the group of AfD MEPs) campaigned on the platform without the slightest contradictory debate, addressing millions of young people. “For information, don’t believe the public service,” harangued the elected official targeted by two preliminary investigations for alleged payments coming from Russian and Chinese sources. “Choose the right sources, my TikTok feed,” he said again, encouraging young people to register with “AfD Youth” (JA), an organization of extremists under surveillance by the intelligence services for its anti-democratic positions. And Maximilian Krah bluntly calls for revolt: “Don’t be afraid of your left-wing teachers. They want to forbid you from speaking when it’s you who has the truth. […] Stand up and speak your mind. They won’t end up giving in.”
Faced with this surge, the other parties quickly lit a counter-fire by registering on TikTok, which they had constantly criticized for its lack of ethics. Olaf Scholz launched himself in April. Facing the camera, the chancellor presents to the public the old, threadbare leather briefcase that he has ostensibly been carrying around for more than 30 years. A first video that became the laughing stock of all social networks in just a few hours.
.