Kommentar: Junge Menschen sind weder radikal noch naiv – nur verzweifelt
Bei den Wahlen in Berlin und Mecklenburg-Vorpommern haben jeweils über 50 Prozent der jungen Menschen die Ränder gewählt. Für die Volksparteien ergeben sich daraus zwei Lektionen.
The elections in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern are causing a stir in federal politics due to the strong performances of the AfD and the left-wing parties. Young voters aged between 25 and 34 have voted almost 60% for the left or AfD in Berlin, and around half of the voters in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern have done so. Even those under 25 have overwhelmingly voted for the political extremes.
This raises two questions: Has the younger generation become radicalized? Have they lost faith in democracy entirely? The young vote certainly seems to indicate a complete abandonment of faith in democracy and our economic system. Consequently, they are often accused of naivety, being easily influenced. This is no idle accusation.
Young people often gain their information primarily from social media, a medium that extreme forces know how to exploit successfully. It appears that the left in Berlin, which could be the governing party, and the AfD in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, both represent extreme positions. However, is the youth vote more susceptible to radical ideas than older voters, whose lives are also dominated by social media today?
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
