Young Germans trusted the far-right Alternative for Germany party, helping it achieve historic results in yesterday's elections in two East German states, according to exit polls, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
In Thuringia and Saxony, voters between the ages of 18 and 29 significantly supported the AfD, which in both states is classified by German domestic intelligence as a far-right extremist group.
AzG received 36% of the support of young voters in Thuringia and 30% in Saxony, according to a poll organized by the “Forschungsgruppe Wallen” (“Forschungsgruppe Wahlen“).
In general “Alternative to Germany“ finished first in Thuringia with 32.8% and second in Saxony with 30.6% of the vote. The center-right Christian Democratic Union, which is expected to lead the coalition governments of both provinces, fared significantly weaker among young voters.
The CDU won in Saxony with 31.9% of the vote, but only 15% of voters under the age of 29 supported it. In Thuringia, the CDU took second place with 23.6% of the vote, but from young people it received only 13%, the same as the far-left party “The Left”.
Polls in Thuringia and Saxony show that support for the AfD among young voters has grown significantly since the previous election in 2019.
Researcher Rüdiger Maas, who has looked at what makes AZ attractive to young people, points to the skillful use of social networks, the recruitment of influencers and the emphasis on issues such as migration, which are popular among the younger generation.
Maas said it was also a sign of the party's normalization among young people, who, unlike older Germans, are less likely to view the AWG as a repugnant extremist group or a threat to democracy. According to him, the traditional division of the political world into left and right is becoming less and less important for young voters. In a recent survey, he found that many young people who self-identified as centrists voted for AzG.
„As a result, these far-right parties do not fall into the fringes,”, Maas said, adding that fewer and fewer young people say that in their circles of friends, AzG is not considered a taboo or fringe extremist group.
„Many young people told us: “The extreme right will not hurt us, they are not evil.“ Older people, in particular, seem to recognize this danger,”, Maas said, adding that he sees the phenomenon as “completely underestimated” factor.
Maas said he expected a similar result in the election for a new parliament in the eastern German state of Brandenburg on September 22.
Young people, under the influence of social media, tend to perceive “Alternative to Germany” as a party that is unfairly discredited by others, while leading political parties such as the center-left German Social Democratic Party and the center-right Christian Democratic Union struggle to gain traction on the Internet.
According to Maas, other parties will have the opportunity to compete with AzG for the votes of young people only if they invest a lot of money in a short time and rely on individuals whose online content reaches many people.