Federal election: Researchers: Young people perceive politics as opponents

According to an expert, many young people in Germany and therefore potential first-time voters in the federal election do not feel represented by politics. “They even have the feeling that politics is working against them or is not even taking notice of them,” said generation researcher Rüdiger Maas in the ARD “Morgenmagazin”.

There are few points where young people are directly addressed by politicians. Maas demanded that politicians invest more in schools and make politics there more tangible. The researcher complained that some young respondents’ understanding of politics was “subterranean”.

Maas: AfD has an advantage in social networks

Many people get their main knowledge of politics from social networks. There, almost only the AfD speaks the language of young people, which creates an imbalance. Other parties would have to try to break down complex issues. Boring topics could be made more emotional. “If I want to reach the young people, then I have to try a little harder than I currently do,” said Maas.

“Funny kind of tolerance in both directions”

He has not observed any divisions in schoolyards, for example. On the contrary: “Young people who now vote for the AfD and those who now vote for the Left Party, BSW or CDU, for example, understand each other. This is completely new.”

10 or 15 years ago there was more hostility between the extreme right and the extreme left. “Today there is a whole strange kind of tolerance in both directions,” said Maas. Young AfD voters would tend to place themselves in the middle.