European elections
Neubauer: The strongest faction among young voters was the climate
Climate activist Luisa Neubauer remains optimistic despite the Greens’ losses in the European elections. Photo
© Hendrik Schmidt/dpa
The climate activist remains optimistic despite the Greens’ losses in the European elections. Altogether, Volt and the Greens received more votes than the AfD, said Neubauer.
According to climate activist Luisa Neubauer from the Fridays for Future movement continues to place a high value on young voters – despite the Greens’ losses in this age group in the European elections.
“Despite the shift to the right, the strongest faction among the youngest voters in this European election was the climate party,” Neubauer told the German Press Agency in Berlin. “Together, Volt and the Greens – the two parties that campaigned aggressively on climate protection – received more percent of the votes from under-24s than the AfD.”
This is remarkable “given that most parties and many media have largely ignored the most existential crisis in this election campaign,” she said. United forces from civil society have pushed down the AfD’s temporarily high poll ratings. Half a year ago, the party was still achieving more than 20 percent in polls.
At the same time, Neubauer said it was shocking that young people had voted for the AfD on an unprecedented scale. Fridays for Future had been warning for months that “TikTok right-wing populism” was being underestimated by democratic parties. Commentators accused Neubauer of joining in a “youth-bashing chorus.”
“The defense of climate security and democracy in Germany and Europe will be more necessary than ever after this election,” emphasized Neubauer. “But there is no reason to fall into the cynical belief that this is not possible.”