The New Electorate is a PartyParty series that investigates the multifaceted demographics influencing the EU parliamentary elections. This series offers an in-depth look at the diverse voter segments across Europe, exploring their unique influences and pivotal roles in this year’s election.
In the 2019 European Parliament (EP) elections, voter turnout saw a remarkable 50 percent increase among young people compared to 2014, with the most substantial rises in voters under 25 and those aged 25-39. This surge is set to influence this year’s EP elections, especially with lowered voting ages in five EU countries, including Austria, Belgium, Germany, Malta, and Greece
As June elections approach, the youth vote’s direction is pivotal for election outcomes. With a politically activated youth, political parties stand to gain or lose depending on how well they address the issues that matter to young Europeans — and how well they communicate with and to them. Currently, far-right parties are successfully engaging this demographic across Europe, especially teenage boys and young men, potentially steering these parties to significant gains. Let’s dissect the reasons why and how Europe’s young voters will have a profound impact on these elections.
Key issues for young electorates
First, let’s unpack the key political issues capturing the attention of EU’s youth voters. Here are the critical concerns that resonate most with the young electorate poised to shape the upcoming EP elections in June.
Economic concerns
Young people are worried about their career prospects. There is a demand from youth voters for better job opportunities and higher pay, as well as a frustration around high cost-of-living and a wildly inaccessible housing market, particularly in cities.
Peace and security
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, peace and security has become prominent in the minds of voters of all ages. It is a cause of concern for youth voters, who see an uncertain future and are anxious about a destabilised security order and what that means for their future. Notably, security concerns extend to the internet for young people, who spend a lot of their time online, and are aware of bad actors, political propaganda and online harassment.
Environmental urgency
The climate crisis feels like a real threat to young people’s future. How it’s handled will impact many of the big decisions of their lives, including whether or not they have children and where they choose to live.
The youth drift towards the right
Despite broadly caring about climate and peace and security, a significant minority of young people are attracted to far-right political parties. We’ve selected a few examples to show this ongoing trend that continues throughout Europe .
Portugal: the far-right Chega party
In Portugal, where the centre-left Socialists have been in power for almost a decade, many younger citizens are now supporting the far-right Chega party. For voters between the ages of 18 and 34, Chega may become the most popular party, potentially gaining support from 22.5 percent of that demographic in the next election.
Netherlands: Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom
In the Netherlands, the popularity of Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom, known for its staunch anti-immigrant stance and far-right politics, has resonated strongly with younger voters. This alignment has positioned Wilders’ party as the leading choice among the 18-34 demographic, capturing the largest share of their votes in recent elections.
Germany: the neo-Nazi AfD party
In Germany, the neo-Nazi AfD party has found success on TikTok, a social media platform dominated by very young people including potential and future voters. Spearheaded by figures like Maximilian Krah, who merges political rhetoric with personal advice, AfD’s TikTok strategy employs bold, simple messages that resonate deeply, achieving significantly more engagement than other parties. This approach leverages the platform’s algorithm favouring provocative content, positioning AfD as a prominent voice among young voters disillusioned by societal challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic and climate anxiety, potentially impacting the upcoming elections.
France: the National Rally party
In France, the 28-year-old President of the far-right National Rally party has innovatively taken political engagement into nightclubs, creating a unique campaign atmosphere that attracts many young supporters. This approach not only broadens the party’s appeal among young voters but also energises its base, making politics accessible and engaging in a way that traditional rallies often fail to achieve.
The most successful tactic for far-right parties courting the youth vote is speaking directly about the economic struggles of young Europeans, who face relatively high rates of unemployment, low wages, and an unaffordable housing market. By centering economic issues and speaking directly to the plight of young people who cannot rely on higher education and hard work paying off, the far-right could capture shockingly high levels of support from teenagers and young adults. Equally — or more — important is the fact that far-right parties have managed to thrive on social media sites, where infotainment, factless clickbait, and polarisation are supported by the algorithms.
This effort among far-right parties to engage politically-disillusioned youth could have major returns in the upcoming EP elections, if young people turnout to vote.
A gender divide in political preferences
Though there are generational tensions between young and old voters, the greater divide may be within the younger generations between men and women. Young women vote much more to the left than young men. In Germany, women between 18 and 30 years old are 30 points more left than men in the same age range. In the UK, it’s 25 points. Many young men are angry, in part because of the consequences of the #MeToo movement and the culture shift that it brought, in part because they feel left behind.
In Europe, men attend and graduate from institutes of higher education at lower rates than women. Some understand the shift to the far-right among young male voters as a political “backlash” against the cultural progress of women’s emancipation.
The grievances of young men tie in with the economic reality they face: lack of job opportunity, the seeming impossibility of home ownership, and increased cost of living. A recent study stated that it is despair and disillusionment among young men that makes it possible for the radical right to find fertile ground with this demographic. The same study found that young men’s rightward drift has directly influenced the outcome of elections in Poland, Portugal, Germany, the Netherlands and Slovakia.
Strategies to engage young voters
The far-right dominates in the online sphere. Other political parties should catch-up on social media and create content that is engaging, ideologically convincing, and factful. Creating an online presence with figures who genuinely speak to the struggles young people face, particularly the stark economic reality which offers youth a lack of job opportunities, relatively low pay, and unaffordable housing, will go a long way.
Parties shouldn‘t shy away from infotainment. If the message will attract young people to a cause, make sure those young people pay attention to what you‘re saying. Political parties need not be overly-serious or dry in what they post, but they need to be concerned with getting the precious attention of young people on platforms full of content vying for their eyes.
Lastly, political figures and parties must learn how to talk to young men with reactionary political positions who feel that there is a culture of critique in the post #MeToo world that leaves them feeling alienated and misunderstood. Initiate open dialogues that address their concerns directly and constructively, providing a platform for expression. By fostering inclusive discussions and offering practical solutions to their economic and social issues, parties can bridge the gap and reduce feelings of alienation.