German teenagers and young adults find themselves increasingly unsatisfied and likely to vote for the far right, according to a survey. Fears about prosperity are highlighted as a possible cause.
Young people are more likely to vote for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) than previously, a study on Tuesday showed.
Authors of the “Youth in Germany 2024” study said that under-30s were increasingly disgruntled with their social and economic situation, and that fears about future prosperity were driving a shift to the right.
The AfD’s signature issue is a hard-line anti-immigration stance, and the data showed that migration was among young people’s main concerns.
…
The online study, conducted in January and February, found that young people were becoming increasingly dissatisfied, especially with their social and economic situation, compared with previous years.
After the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the authors said economic and political worries for example due to inflation, high rents, the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East or the division of society had taken center stage.
Young people were especially worried about:
- inflation (65%),
- expensive housing (54%),
- poverty in old age (48%),
- the division of society (49%)
Aaah yes, that classical list of things that a fiscally right party would solve … </sarcasm>
Absolutely agree, but the reason why they turn to AFD is because they literally have no trust in any of the classical parties. I think it is more of a longing for an underdog or almost a poker move - just bet everything on that (unfortunately rather racist) card because maybe they’d change something. It’s already going down the drain if we continue the way we have continued for the past decades, so let’s try something very new. Maybe we will have luck in this Russian roulette.
Now, this is stupid af. I would never in my mind consider AFD as an actual option. But for a lot of people it feels like this is the only Fuck You they can give the current government (I am including the CDU/CSU in this definition of “government” too).
Basically all other parties are moderate-middle at this point. They have some small differences but none of them actually fight for the working class, for underprivileged people, and basically all young people know they are or will be underprivileged. Yes we have a left party called Die Linke, but they have been notoriously busy with themselves and a split because a big chunk of the party was circling around Sahra Wagenknecht who was very controversial and shared some far right ideals. Maybe they will get a grip of themselves and become “vote-able” again in the future. But honestly, I’m not sure they are really left either.
When you basically vote for capitalism, either way, just in different shades, it feels like your vote does not matter. Desparte people turn to desperate and stupid measures.
For real, we don’t have an actual, valid socialist party. I honestly wonder why. Most young people are so fed up with how things go. Yes we don’t want to work anymore. Why should we? To get fired at random when a company goal isn’t met? After we studied engineering for 8 years to get minimum wage +1€? To be part of a company that produces the 35th version of a shit emoji cushion, well knowing that we create a bullshit product that just unnecessarily wastes resources? So we can partake in killing the planet? So that we, after we have been fired for no reason, have to fight to collect unemployment for a short period of time, before we are being forced into a bullshit job under threats? So that we work full time until we are 70+ to hardly collect any retirement? When we have kids, we are supposed to not see them but give them to childcare asap to reenter the workforce. For all that bullshit. So I honestly wonder why there isn’t a real socialist alternative to the classical parties. I have a very big feeling that a lot of young people would gladly jump over.
Engineer in Germany earning minimum wage?
I think that “division of society” may be a euphemism for non-ethnically-homogenous society and friction resulting from that. I’ve seen similar uses before.
I am seeing a division of society, and it’s due to the likes of AFD + members of CSU & CDU pushing populist bullshit. People that fell for that likely also see a division of society, but they’re blaming “wokeism” for it.
I don’t think it refers to ethnic homogeny.
You did leave off the last one, flows of immigration. Still, that’s only 1 out of 5.
I don’t see the flow as a problem. But if you do see the flow as a problem I can see reasons a right leaning government would be the way you’d vote.
I also see why “cheap brown Labour” is a reason to allow immigration. So that one swings both ways enough I didn’t include it.
But if you do see the flow as a problem I can see reasons a right leaning government would be the way you’d vote.
I’ve actually seen a study that suggested, at least at that time, attitude to immigration was the sole predictor of AfD support. The stuff that factors in on this side of the Atlantic like being old, poor, rural and/or uneducated had no real correlation. It kind of makes me think it’s a fundamentally different phenomenon going on over there.
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Are German history classes shit? Do they not know what happened the last time a right winger got into power after inflation?
The history classes are alright.
The education system is abysmal.
It’s different this time, they don’t use swastikas. /s
Same thing in Canada… How did Trudeau manage to affect Germany so much???
A common sense Conservative government will restore common sense policies to Germany, New Zealand and every other place in the world. And also will bring Tupac back.
- Pierre Poilievre, on being in charge of Canada.
Everyone knows Tupac is fighting fascists in the jungles of South America, fake news.
Yes… I love how people say PP will fix housing when he himself is a landlord and rents 2 houses… When asked about it (mildy because the press wouldn’t dare ask a direct question) he actually said he was “helping Canadians by providing house at affordable rent”
I really don’t think these are their actual reasons. I wish they were, but I’m in that backed of people and let me tell you, plain racism is the main reason. The other reasons are just straw man arguments for now as it still is kinda shunned to be openly racist here, for now at least…
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It’s not like the left cares, either.
They care More. Don’t both-sides on social programmes.
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Actually the pessimism turned me left. How can one be pessimistic about the future and turn to those who will make it even worse? Stupidity or self harming behaviour?
Guess they buy into the simplistic views shouted by the far right.
People are not good at critically evaluating options and don’t have the time or attention to do so. Not a knock on young people, pretty much everyone in 2024 has divided attention 24/7.
So we turn to heuristics, ways to short-circuit decision making. Like looking at what arguments experts make, how often we hear arguments, who is the most confident, etc. Those are easily exploited by right-wing populists.
My observation:
They position themselves similar to classic revolutionaries - they claim to be the counterpoint to the “establishment” or to the “out-of-touch elites.”
That’s pretty tempting for people who don’t like the direction the world is heading in. Most don’t see or don’t want to see that the AfD is chock full of the exact people who rule them from the top down, police their opinions and take away their personal liberties.
What’s tragic is that, historically, a left wing group would normally find itself in the position the AfD is holding now. Yet here we are, after 50 years of slowly shifting rightwards until the social contract began breaking, with a party that offers a harsh jump further right as the revolutionary cure.
They’re either very selfishly shortsighted or dangerously sarcastic.
They are not very smart
Another contender would be accelerationism. I’ve seen a lot of that online.
If you go with the worst POV on far-right, it’s the same promises that lead men to war: after the war you’ll have money and will be able to marry
In a world where money is hard to come by, and society and culture are deconstructed (and nothing is built to replace it), there is no much else they hold dear. So “war” is all that’s left
It’s been this way forever
This is a growing problem across the world. Blaming the youth for being led to the far right is not going to help. Fear is an easy thing to exploit. Blame the people and systems that brought us and those young people to where things stand. Blame the far right for exploiting vulnerable people with false promises of returning back to some 100 year old fantasy of nationalistic power and prosperity. Blame capitalism, neoliberalism and death cult conservatism, brought upon by their elders.
Yeah, vote for the people who will make everything worse, that’ll really cure that pessimision.
Well how could that ever go wrong
Can someone explain how voting for fascists would make it in any way shape or form better? Cause I don’t see it.
The fascist play social media like a fiddle.
Vienna is right next door where %60 of people live in public housing, and it apparently works well because in Vienna, public housing isn’t kist for the poor.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-04/vienna-s-social-housing-and-low-rent-strategy/102639674
Vienna is certainly a great example for public housing done right, but I don’t see how it’s relevant to the post. As far as I’m aware, Austria’s problem with right wing populism is even worse than in Germany.
The public housing here was done right, but was not continued for a long time and does not exist in its glory anymore, unfortunately. Now a part of new developments needs to be cheap, which is good I guess…
In the wise words of Ordinary Things:
people turn to angry politics and alternative narratives when rotting institutions refuse to show them a future worth believing in. Yes, there are crazy, evil people in this world, but they only get a foothold when the sensible ones stop giving a shit.
Don’t let the bastards grind you down
Ordinary Things
I’m super left, almost anarchistic, radically left, after decades of seeing things get worse. But at times you go so far left that you disagree with other liberals, and their first response is “you’re a Maga conservative” just cause I didn’t agree with their elitist, college liberalism ideas that are all talk and ineffective.
The way so many young liberals are becoming way more rude, aggressive. Elitist, and so hard headed that they won’t budge even an inch right or left on an issue is a huge turn off to most people. If someone to their right even so much as disagrees in a polite way, they get called names and insulted, instead of educated. No wonder so many young people just jump to the far right when they see how so many young liberals behave.
I’m for sure gonna get dowvoted and called a conservative for calling out these young of privileged, college liberals who look down on everyone
Nah man, I agree. Many liberals (especially young) have this mindset of punishing people for “wrongthinking” instead of educating and getting them on their side, that shit only further radicalizes moderate people into the polar opposite of what you want. I’ve had this discussion with people before and it seems a lot of people either have a hard time telling the difference between unwitting ignorance from acts of bad faith or they just don’t care at all and think anyone even a bit right from them needs to be in a shallow grave. I feel like this aggressive behavior is part of the problem of why so many people are getting “redpilled” into the far-right.
The far right is not worthy of anything. Nothing.
Define FAR right. Like how far? Cause I picture my dad, a conservative but has a trans grandson, and a gay niece, so he’s had to change his way of thinking in order to accept others. He’s not anywhere near perfect, but he’s trying. But according to most people here, he’s FAR right, because he’s a boomer.
I remember in 2016, anything right of Bernie Sanders was FAR RIGHT to you guys. And that’s a problem when you throw everyone together like that because you’ve dismissed alot of allies that just need a bit of education and coaxing instead of being tossed in the far right bin.
@Son_of_dad
I grew up in the deep south and have lived in Republican territories and households my whole life. I even voted for Trump in 2016, but that was the end of my support for Republicans. I am now an Independent and lean more left than right. Those guys ruined it and I will not support that regime. No more.We agree on 90% on this issue. Trump, and the type of people he gave a voice to, are the worst thing that has happened not just to the country but to the world in general. And it needs to be stamped out, and the first sign of Revolution, I’ll be out there ready to die for my kid’s future. But I won’t turn good people into my enemies, because they’re consideres “too right”, because many people that have been called far right aren’t, and you lose them by throwing unreasonable hate on them.
After living in left and right states for many years, there is a stupid amount of common ground over stuff like solar, right to repair, rent control and housing, railway infrastructure, healthcare costs, quality careers and compensation, education costs and more.
We might see something like solar for different reasons (climate change vs. energy independence), but there’s ways of rephrasing a solution to have it both ways.
The only thing that really seems to get in the way are petty online disagreements that then snowball into stuff like accusing people of shitting in litterboxes, hypothesising that gender diverse people started an international war or accusing people of genocide because their underwear was just revealed to be made in a super repressive country. That’s the noise that prevents us from getting shit like bullet trains in or healthcare costs drawn down.
Even in more controversial things like abortion there are a large number of people that agree on the same thing on both sides. Once you throw out divisive labels like “pro-life” or “pro-choice” and look at the specifics, you find that it’s not really a 2 sided issue at all: https://www.npr.org/2019/06/07/730183531/poll-majority-want-to-keep-abortion-legal-but-they-also-want-restrictions
People are so touchy about being judged, so ready to be insulted. It all works in favour of the authoritarians.
Sure, we need to talk out the terms and agree on things, but that only works when people have open minds and critical thinking. In the meantime the epic struggle is between those who work, and those who own.
All the quibbles about left and right, about borders and morality, about identity, is distraction from solving the problems of fundamental disparity.
Basically, living in a kleptocracy sucks. Owners vs workers, authoritarians vs egalitarians: these are the real battles.
elitist, college liberalism ideas
liberals are becoming way more rude, aggressive. Elitist,
young privileged, college liberals who look down on everyone
That smells an awful lot like ring wing indoctrination 101:
- Restating several times to drive home the claim that liberals are elitist, aloof, rude, “looking down on everyone”
- Claiming “they” are being aggressive and nasty against super polite people only a little bit to the right
- Therefore joining the far right is a well-deserved act at getting back at these nasty liberals
.
You wrote two and a half paragraphs that are essentially just liberal bashing. My experience is that liberals are the people who don’t judge you for personal choices, who reach out a hand even if you’re worlds apart.
There’s no way you call yourself “super left” or “radical left” and identify with the term “liberal”… Liberalism is the polar opposite of “radical left”
Jesus. This is exactly what I’m talking about. Is there a news letter or website that gives out the proper terms and most widely accepted labels, 2024 edition? I’ve been around long enough to see all these labels cycle through the mainstream lexicon. They mean something new every few years.
But of course that’s what you wanna single out, the fact that I use different labels than you, therefore I couldn’t possibly be anything like you right? It’s like you people WANT division, tribalism and segregation. You actively seek out things to get upset and in a fight about, which is exactly what they want.
Look mate, if you just said “I’m a democrat so I’m a liberal” I would’ve understood that. I’m not that nitpicky about it. But a self identifying “RADICAL LEFTIST” would absolutely never identify himself with the term “liberal”. Hell, radical leftists (and including the far left) use that term as an insult. Which of course raises some questions when you use it for yourself while also being “far left”. It makes it seem like you’re roleplaying the “radical leftist” role. Just my two cents, you do you.
Also, no, “liberal” hasn’t changed definitions, ever. It was always the same thing: an adherent to liberalism. If you’re far left you’re a commie or an anarchist or whatever. Communism/Anarchism has nothing to do with Liberalism. They’re on different parts of the political spectrum. If you’re from the US I’ll make this easy for you: both democrats and republicans count as liberals. They’re both adherent parties to liberalism.
That’s like claiming you’re a far right socialist lol
I’ve likely been around long before you, I’ve survived transform, I’ve been through war, I’ve survived anti Communist death squads, I’ve seen the jungles full of civilians fleeing capitalist bombs. don’t think you can educate me on the world.
Then go take a political science class.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberalism
There is absolutely nothing to discuss here. This is not “the world”. This is political science. And it isn’t up for any weird debate. It’s a term written in countless research papers and field texts, and is not up for change due to whatever definition you guys happen to read in the news today.
From your link: “In Europe and North America, the establishment of social liberalism (often called simply liberalism in the United States) became a key component in expanding the welfare state.”
Idk, that seems compatible with most of the left-of-center spectrum, and certainly not something you would find a libertarian or conservative supporting. I can see how it’s not compatible with auth-left positions, though.
Perhaps you’re referring to neoliberalism, which, in my understanding, dropped all the social welfare stuff in favor of corporate welfare. In that case, I can understand how that term could be used as an insult.
In my eyes liberalism != neoliberalism. I consider myself liberal, and I despise neoliberal policies.
Whatever kid. Not everyone is a native English speaker, and not everyone is signed up to your own minds definition on things. You’re literally arguing about labels, that’s how I know you’re a child.
You can go on as many ad hominem attacks as you like, that’s not going to make your points more correct. I’m not a kid and I’m definitely not a native English speaker.
Liberals aren’t Left since “everybody should be free to do what they want” is often incompatible with “we should have the best life possible for the greatest number”, especially when it comes to money, environmentalism, exploitation of others and so on.
Worse, liberals aren’t even genuinelly pro freedom, as they don’t even try to begin addressing the power imbalances (read reduction of freedom of the many to increase freedom of a few) due to Wealth and Ownership.
One wonders why exactly somebody created this heavilly hollowed derivative of the full fight for Equality that excludes everything to do with the inequality associated with Money and other society-wide forms of Powers, or in other words, the biggest part of societal inequality by quite a distance and the greatest forms of discrimination.
Personally I have this theory that this stuff was created in American think tanks to pull people away from the real leftwing thinking: this pale imitation of pro-Equality stops people from fight for the full Equality (which would have put them against the Wealthy and other established powers) whilst still making them think they were fighting for people to be treated equally and thus making them feel like righteous combatants for good.
As you’ve noticed, once indoctrinated most of those people will blindly and irrationally fight for it and never actually question the rationale of the elements of a political doctrine which has massive logic holes
May I see this study?
“Seymour! The Reichstag is on fire!”
With a bit of digging, I turned up this: https://simon-schnetzer.com/trendstudie-jugend-in-deutschland-2024/
Kinda unprofessional for them not to link it in the actual article.
Am I misunderstanding something or is this Simon Schnetzer like a German version of those motivational speakers trying to get you to buy their book on YouTube? I can’t find anything about the guy’s affiliations or qualifications but tons of stuff about where and when he is speaking and his chosen monikers like “futurist.”
Yep, a self appointed “youth expert” which you can book a keynote for and supposedly learn how to engage gen Y, Z and alpha in your workforce.
So kinda like a discount Aldi version of Simon Sinek.
I don’t know, could be. I don’t speak German so I kind of just gave up once I found the link.
What about Die Linke? You’d expect they would reap gains if the conventional parties are losing ground, but they’re not mentioned.
Die linke Split into two Parties where one is useless and the other … Well… we’ll see. Problem is that the far right is just Very good at making TikTok content atm.
Oh, I didn’t know. Not surprising, I guess. That’s what the hard left seems to do.
I know I am throwing stones in glass houses because I am saying this as a person from the US, but wow Germany is a really scary country, it seems like the culture is always extremely primed to radicalize its young men into serious violence around an obsession with masculine and machine strength/purity.
The US is a scarier country in most respects, and certainly has the same issue, but Germany is a much older culture and these brainworms seem to have ingrained deeper into their cultural mindset in some ways.
Are leftist movements growing to a similar degree among young people in Germany?
There is currently a massive movement against the far-right in Germany
Revently a meeting was leaked, where the AfD went just mask-out-the-window and openly talked about deportation (They call it “Remigration”) of German Citicens who are the children of immigrants.
After that the vague threats to society have become tangible for a lot of people. Now an ever increasing ammount of the general public is turning against the AfD, who is further slipping into fascism as a reaction, prompting usuql fascist infighting and splitting.
Unlike in the US our judicial system is not quite as bad, but, with all things German, burocratic processes are quite slow. Also a lot of parties dont want to cooperate with the AfD in any regard, even the center-right (CDU) is having issues.
From the outside it looks bleaker then it is in reality, but the danger is still very real
I compared these numbers to the general population (Source: https://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/ )
Support for the far right AfD is about 5 percentage points lower than among the general population (12% vs 17%)
For the conservative CDU/CSU it is 10 pp lower (20% vs 30%)
For the Social Democrats it is 3 pp lower (12% vs 15%)
For the liberal FDP it is 4 pp higher (8% vs 4%)
For the Greens it is about 4 pp higher (18% vs 14%)
For the Wagenknecht alliance, a weird mix of far right and far left, it is about the same (5%)
Unfortunately this article doesn’t mention the socialist left, which for the general population sits at around 3%
So, to conclude (and from my own experience) youths in Germany don’t deviate that much from the general population in terms of their political views. They tend to be less conservative and xenophobic. Most of them are somewhere in the center, having slightly more liberal tendencies than the general population.
Far right parties in Europe:
Polls for AFD in Germany are currently about twice that.
That’s irrelevant, the idea that modern day Germany is uniquely fertile ground for far right parties is easily disproven
That may very well be, but I don’t see how your link is relevant either.
It proves exactly what I just wrote?
I must have higher standards for what constitutes proof than you have.
It’s not that I disagree with your point or agree with the post you were replying to. I just don’t see how your image supports or refutes any of it.
You don’t see how other countries having similar or more popular far right parties is proof that Germany is not uniquely far right?
Germany isn’t as progressive and nice as their PR department tells you. I got sick of hearing about how perfect Germany is for years, knowing it was all bullshit. They’re barely just now catching up on decriminalizing pot.
I believe a part of their public admin is still in paper too? Not fully digital.
Correct me if wrong
Canada is this way too. I needed a new passport and it took 8 weeks of faxes, forms, mail in forms, visits to government offices where everything runs on paper.
Meanwhile my cousin from Central America, went to his country’s government office, applied and walked out with a passport the same day and it was all done digitally.
As a Canadian I’m appalled and how shit our outdated system is.
A Part? Most of it. You can still fax shit to your amt. Its insane.
What PR department?
Which European countries have a more progressive policy regarding cannabis?
And people focusing on such a worthless topic as pot are not much better.
Yeah those worthless criminal records fucking with people, worthless people in prison cause of a plant. But yeah I guess if you don’t give a shit about people, it’s a worthless issue
You don’t end up in prison for smoking weed but OK
That’s literally every far right person. They sure as fuck are never optimistic besides maybe selfishly. I imagine this has been true forever.
This is kind of what happened in Argentina, and parties response to it just made everything worse.
Dude had a cool chainsaw. That was all the argentinian normal population needed. :)
*idiotic young germans…
