Pessimism over state of the nation leads young Germans to extremes

The recent German elections saw the far right and far left hoover up a large share of votes, particularly among young people. But the split goes beyond age and geography, with young women and men voting remarkably differently. Is there a lesson for Ireland? 

Far-right supporters chant slogans at a protest in Berlin a day before the German elections last month. The SPD has lost most of the working class to the far right and competes with other left-leaning parties for the votes of professionals. Photo: AP/Ebrahim Noroozi

Back in November, the co-leader of the German Greens Franziska Brantner provided an explanation of why knitting has been so popular among delegates of their party conferences ever since the foundation of the party more than 40 years ago: it was all part of preparing for a winter election campaign. 

That campaign is over, but in last Sunday’s election a considerable share of German voters left the traditional parties out in the cold. This happens at a time when the mood in Germany is pessimistic anyway.