The pro-Russian opposition party Alternative for Germany (AfD) is the most popular political force among teenagers under 16, radio station Deutschlandfunk reported, citing the results of unofficial elections held among minors in the federal state of Brandenburg.
The elections to the state parliament are to be held in Brandenburg on Sunday, 22 September. The vote, which will take place a few weeks after the announcement of the results in Saxony and Thuringia, will conclude a series of state parliament elections in the eastern German states. In the run-up to the official elections, the initiative group decided to find out the political preferences of those who will not be able to vote on Sunday due to their age, i.e. children. In the first half of September, more than 4,700 young people in Brandenburg went to polling stations as part of the survey.
The opposition and pro-Russian AfD became the winner of the “children’s” vote, gaining the support of almost 30% of children and adolescents. The gap between the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), which came in second place, turned out to be almost double: the Chancellor’s party Olaf Scholz and the current Prime Minister of Brandenburg Dietmar Woidke The CDU won only 15 percent of the votes. In third place was the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) with 12 percent of the votes, and in fourth place was the German Animal Welfare Party (also with 12 percent). The five percent barrier required to enter the “children’s” parliament was also overcome by the “CDU”. Sara Wagenknecht – for reason and justice” (8%), as well as “Greens” (5%).
“While the results of these elections will not be counted in Sunday’s vote count, they provide a clear indication of which parties are on the radar of those who have not yet voted. And the AfD is the leader here.” – noted in the publication.
According to experts, the popularity of the opposition party among young people is due, among other things, to the AfD’s active use of digital and social media platforms for campaigning. Another explanation could be the influence of parents and the environment. This hypothesis is confirmed by the provisional results of the election polls, according to which the AfD will probably win the upcoming election with 28.4% of the vote. It should be noted that among “adults” the SPD and the CDU are also the second and third most popular political forces, respectively, but they enjoy greater support than among children (SPD: 25% versus 15% for children, CDU: 16% versus 12%).
The results of the “children’s” elections in Brandenburg came just a few days after the German magazine Der Spiegel published an article in which it also pointed out the phenomenon of the AfD’s particular popularity among the younger generation. In an article entitled “Far-right youth”, the journalists spoke in particular about a 14-year-old boy who began supporting Alternative for Germany because of his mother’s failed romance with a migrant.
“The boy was 14 when he started to hate. At that time, his mother had a friend who came from abroad. The man started to beat his mother and at some point himself.” — the publication wrote.
