STERN survey
Imagine it’s the European elections, but many people don’t care
The parties are trying to draw attention to the European elections on June 9th with posters. The FDP relies on black and white photos of its top candidate Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann
© Christoph Hardt / Imago Images
The European elections are on June 9th. But only almost half of Germans want to know about it. There is a particular lack of interest among one age group.
Large posters line the arterial roads, the parties’ rhetoric is becoming more and more excited and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is pushing on television: It’s the European election campaign. On June 9th, the Germans can decide on their representatives in the European Parliament. But many are surprisingly left unaffected. 52 percent have less or no interest in the European elections. 48 percent are very or very interested in the vote. This was the result of a Forsa survey commissioned by star.
The European elections are particularly an issue for left-wing voters
However, there are big differences within the population. Of those who classify themselves as politically left-wing, 58 percent are interested in voting. 70 percent of Green voters and 63 percent of SPD supporters say that they have a very strong or strong interest. Of those who describe themselves as right-wing, 58 percent have little or no interest. Low or disinterest predominates among AfD voters (54 percent) and also supporters of the CDU/CSU (50 percent). The figure is even higher for voters in the Sahra Wagenknecht alliance, which is difficult to pinpoint: 64 percent have little or no interest.
For the parties, the exciting question is whether current interest has an impact on voter turnout. In the 2019 European elections, voter turnout increased by more than 13 percentage points to 61.4 percent compared to 2014. At that time, the growth among younger voters was particularly above average. According to the stern survey, it is doubtful whether this mobilization can be repeated. Of those who are 29 years old or younger, only 40 percent have strong or very strong interest in the European elections. 60 percent have little or no interest. The value is above average for those who are 60 years old or older: 53 percent of them express strong or very strong interest.
The data was collected by the market and opinion research institute forsa for stern and RTL Deutschland on May 8th and 10th, 2024. Database: 1007 respondents. Statistical margin of error: +/- 3 percentage points