The EU election is unique because it is the only parliamentary election in the world that is organised across national borders. It is "in this form a globally unique attempt to exercise democracy beyond the nation state". This attempt was first realised in 1979 and since then the European Parliament has been elected every five years - this year for the tenth time.
In Germany, the European elections will take place on Sunday, 9 June - in a super election year with a significant innovation: following a decision by the German Bundestag in 2022, the minimum voting age was lowered from 18 to 16. For the first time, 16 and 17-year-olds will also be called to vote - as in Belgium, Malta, Austria and Greece. For Germany, this results in an increase of just over five million votes, meaning that almost 65 million citizens will be eligible to vote in 2024.
More young perspectives at last
The greater involvement of young people in European politics is important and logical in order to finally align future issues more closely with the perspectives of those who will be affected by them for longer. And with the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the advancing climate change and the associated socio-ecological transformation, the central levers for the future organisation of our coexistence are currently being turned very comprehensively.
This is also hitting a sensitive nerve. Over the years, various surveys, such as the TUI Young Europe 2023 study or the Vodafone Foundation's youth study from 2022, have indicated that young people are not being listened to enough at European level and do not feel sufficiently included in existing education and exchange formats. Lowering the voting age is not a panacea in this respect, but it is nevertheless a significant step because it is a formal one.
If you also look at the voter turnout figures for previous European elections, it is clear that young people want to participate and actively exercise their right to vote. While voter turnout has fallen steadily from election to election over the years, reaching a sad low of just over 42 per cent in 2014, this trend was halted (for the time being) in the previous election in 2019 with a turnout of around 50 per cent.
As a Eurobarometer survey carried out after the 2019 election shows, this increase was mainly due to more people under the age of 25 voting. Respondents not only perceived voting as their responsibility and important duty as citizens, they were also convinced that they could make a difference with their vote. This demonstrates political commitment and perceived self-efficacy, strengthens the legitimacy of the election and trust in democratic processes and political institutions as a whole.
Still no reason to celebrate
Despite this year's tenth anniversary, the impressive figures and innovations, the European elections in June do not appear to be a cause for celebration. On the contrary, polls on voting behaviour and a recent study by the European Council on Foreign Relations predict a massive shift to the right across all age and demographic groups throughout Europe. According to the study, populist, right-wing extremist and Eurosceptic forces will make significant gains, while moderate, progressive and green parties will lose ground.
Applied to the German party spectrum, this means that the AfD will probably take second place behind the CDU/CSU. This may no longer come as a great surprise after the AfD's previous election results in the state elections in Bavaria and Hesse in autumn 2023. In addition, the forecasts for the upcoming state elections in Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia in the autumn cast an even darker shadow.
And yet this is particularly depressing in terms of participation and appeal to young people. This is because the AfD and its lead candidate for the European elections, Maximilian Krah, are far more successful at the latter than the other parties currently represented in the German Bundestag. This is due in particular to a social media platform that the AfD has been using much longer, more strategically and more efficiently than the other parties to communicate with young people in a target group-orientated way: TikTok. Videos by Krah and his party colleagues are viewed three times as often as the videos of all other parties combined. Frequently polarising, sometimes misanthropic, misogynistic and historically revisionist statements can thus spread millions of times over. In the case of Krah, TikTok has now taken action and reduced the reach of his videos due to violations of the community rules.
The inadequate appeal to young people in terms of content is also reflected in the findings of an election monitor conducted by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in March 2024: when asked about the perceived problem-solving competence of the parties, the vast majority of 16 to 22-year-olds surveyed stated that no party is sufficiently competent to solve the problems facing Europe. And with 14 per cent each, the AfD and SPD still score "best".
It is not yet too late
Of course, the situation surrounding the European elections is much more complex and the AfD's success on TikTok is just one of many possible explanations for the forecasts. Nevertheless, it should be a lesson to all democrats to stop leaving the terrain to right-wing forces alone, whether in established media formats or on new, unfamiliar platforms such as TikTok. Proactive formats that take the concerns, perspectives and also the information and communication channels of young voters seriously are needed, not only in terms of content, but also when it comes to addressing the target group. It's still not too late. There are exactly 50 days to go until the election date in Germany on 9 June and the election campaign is only just getting started.
The Federal Chancellor Helmut Schmidt Foundation is also offering an extensive programme during the Hamburg Europe Weeks - with guided tours of exhibitions, a "Game Night" and "Unlock Europe", the escape game on peace and security in Europe. You can find all the information on our overview page - we look forward to your visit!
