Germans under 25 gave the AfD 16% of their vote in the European elections, with particular support in the east

Germans under 25 gave the AfD 16% of their vote in the European elections, with particular support in the east

Paul Friedrich, 16, could not wait to cast his first ballot and had no doubt which German party had earned his support in the watershed European elections.

“Correct, I voted AfD,” he said proudly in the bustle of the commuter railway station in Brandenburg an der Havel, an hour from central Berlin.

The far-right Alternative für Deutschland made particularly stunning gains on Sunday among young voters. For the first time in a national poll, 16- and 17-year-olds could cast their ballots – a reform that had been strongly backed by left-leaning parties.

After overwhelmingly supporting the Greens five years ago, Germans under 25 gave the AfD 16% of their vote – an 11-point rise – helping place the party second behind the opposition CDU-CSU conservatives and well ahead of the Social Democrats of the chancellor, Olaf Scholz.

The AfD tapped deep wells of support in the former communist east, winning in every state including Brandenburg, where it claimed 27.5% of the vote.

…

And his concerns echo those of many teenagers and twentysomethings in town: fears of war spreading in Europe, inflation, economic decline, “unchecked” immigration and, above all, violent crime, which they say is rampant when they use public transport or hang out in public spaces at night.

  • @[email protected]English
    8•6 months ago

    I agree that the California liberal establishment is not tackling the serious issues we have here, particularly with housing, but what kind of “forced intervention” are you hoping for from Republicans?

    • @ZK686English
      -4•6 months ago

      Force those that are homeless, who clearly have mental issues, to live in an adult care facility where they can :

      A) Get treatment for drugs/alcohol

      B) Get treatment for mental issues.

      Have them go through a process to get better, if it doesn’t help, they don’t leave.

      This is what needs to be done in order to get most of these people off the streets. But, it’s considered “cruel” and “unusual” by Democrats, so, nothing gets done. We’ll never break the homeless issue problem in California with Democrats/Liberals in leadership, that’s a fact.

      • @[email protected]English
        4•6 months ago

        Are you suggesting that republicans want to spend taxpayer money on mental treatment of homeless people? Are you really that fucking dense??

      • @TempermentalAnomalyEnglish
        2•6 months ago

        Senate Bill 43 was pass last year that allowed for increasing the criteria for involuntary detention including the reasons you mentioned. Instead of adult care facilities, they expnded and made conservatorship eaiser. Some counties have delayed its implementation because of cost issues.

        Indefinite detention is unconstitutional, expensive, and doesn’t make sense for treatment. Most people just need occasional detention to get their meds right and not constant supervision.

      • @[email protected]English
        0•6 months ago

        I’m glad to hear you say that. Intend to see the Republican view be more generally carceral. I think your ideas are fine, and in fact there’s a lot of basically that happening around the state. Ever since the pandemic, California has been converting hotels (along with some new construction) to ‘transitional’ housing. Part of this program is working with counselors and DHHS to help people with some of their underlying needs. I think this is pretty good, but needs a lot more funding, especially for the supportive services.

        Unfortunately, homelessness is a huge and growing issue both inside and outside of California. There are a lot of systemic issues that contribute to the cycle of addiction and childhood trauma which I believe are at the heart of most of it. Add in poor job prospects and high cost of living (especially housing), and we have a ton of work to do to reverse this trend.