The Alternative for Germany (AfD) achieved success in the 2024 European elections among almost all populations and age groups, but did best among young people. Among young people aged 16 to 24, 16 percent chose the Alternative for Germany. This means that among young voters, the AfD is almost on a par with the conservative parties of the Christian Democrats, the CDU and the CSU. At the same time, AfD is a party that the German Service for the Protection of the Constitution assesses as a "suspicious right-wing extremist case".
The alternative for Germany is still far from attractive to the majority of young voters - but the increase in the number of their votes is significant. In the 2019 European elections, that far-right party attracted only five percent of young voters. Now she has managed to more than triple the share of votes in that group of voters - to 16 percent.
The AfD was initially skeptical of young people, especially of lowering the voting age to 16. She saw young voters as more of a threat than an opportunity for good election results. In 2018, the AfD also sued the province of Thuringia for lowering the age limit to 16. The party complained that the ruling parties there, the Left, the SPD and the Greens, only wanted to secure power in this way, because young people are usually left-oriented. The lawsuit was dismissed.
AfD - entertainment on TikTok
Since then, the AfD has made far more effort than any other German party to attract young people – and with success. She tries to animate the youth with targeted campaigns on TikTok, Instagram and similar networks. Her messages are emotional, clear and direct: "Be confident", "Look ahead", "Don't watch pornography", "It's up to you". The controversial main candidate of the AfD in the European elections, Maximilian Krah, advertised in this way on TikTok. He connected his messages with simple political views, for example: "Real men are right-wing".
Even if Maximilian Krach, a politician in a suit with a tie and a handkerchief in his top pocket, seems to be some kind of anti-influencer, he still achieved enormous success on that platform for the youth. In his video posts, he combined harsh views with humor and ultimately managed to reach an audience of millions with this strategy.
But Maximilian Krah is much more than a TikTok politician. He caused great scandals. He was the main candidate of the AfD in the European elections, and then he was suspected of receiving money from Russian propaganda channels, as well as of employing a Chinese spy. And then, just before the election, he relativized the crimes of the German SS in the Second World War. The SS organization, like no other, was responsible for the industrial mass murders of European Jews during the Nazi era from 1933 to 1945. Indignation at Krach's relativization came from all over Europe, and even from friendly right-wing extremist parties, for example from Marine Le Pen's French National Assembly.
Because of this, the AfD leadership first removed Krah from the campaign for the European elections, and now, after the vote, it has been announced that he will not even be sent to the European Parliament. It may have even cost the AfD votes – but given the strong increase in support compared to the previous European elections, it was tolerable from the AfD's point of view. Young people, it seems, are not interested in such scandals or do not notice them.
Democrats without a strategy
Germany's democratic parties have so far done little to counter the AfD and its modern social media strategy. When Chancellor Olaf Scholz tries to show young people the charm of his worn nude bag on his newly launched TikTok channel, it works - almost touchingly. But Scholz is actually quite lost in the world of TikTok, and the AfD on that Chinese platform reaches as many young people in Germany as all the other parties combined – CDU, CSU, SPD, Greens, FDP and the Left.
The strong response among young voters probably has an essential reason: just five years ago, the biggest concern among young people was about human-caused climate change and its consequences. This year 2024, that theme has faded. According to a recent study by the Bertelsmann Foundation, they are primarily concerned about peace in Europe. The majority of young people aged 16 to 25 listed "ensuring peace" as their most important task. Accordingly, the Alternative for Germany has been trying to present itself as a "party of peace" in recent months. Apparently, she was successful in this with young people.
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