Young Voters in German Election Show Strong Interest in AfD Party: Could the Election Results Lead to Positive Change?

Young Voters in German Election Show Strong Interest in AfD Party: Could the Election Results Lead to Positive Change?

Berlin, February 23, 2025: This year’s election seems crucial for the future of democracy, especially for the youth of Germany. Josephine Boellhoff, a 27-year-old media freelancer, voted this morning at a nursery school in Prenzlauer Berg.

She told Al Jazeera, "I’m not happy about the election and do feel anxious about the situation, but I felt happy after casting my vote because I still have the right to do so."

She further added, "This election is extremely important in how we position ourselves to our democracy and its future."

This election sees more than half a million newly naturalized Germans eligible to vote. In 2015-2016 alone, over a million migrants arrived in Germany, the majority of whom were from Syria.

Meanwhile, the rise of the nationalist and anti-immigrant AfD (Alternative for Germany) party is becoming a major challenge for Syrians and other people of color. Syrians fled their country due to war, which followed the crackdown by President Bashar al-Assad on protests demanding greater democratic freedoms.

The AfD party is represented in almost all of Germany’s state parliaments, with a particularly strong presence in the eastern regions. The party is known for its ability to address political and social issues with "clarity, intensity, radicalism, and emotionality," says Wolfgang Schroeder, a political science professor at the Berlin Social Science Center.

The AfD has effectively used the emotional power of the internet and has gained significant popularity among young voters. The party has presented itself as an anti-establishment force, which has become particularly appealing at a time when trust in politicians is low.

Furthermore, ahead of the election, the AfD distributed fake one-way flight tickets for undocumented migrants, which further revealed their anti-immigration stance.