There is no magic formula for getting young people excited about political participation. But the mistake is already in the formulation: It doesn't have to be enthusiastic, it does it itself. Not all, and certainly not across all social classes. But it has been at a stable level for a few years now: In the Shell youth study of 2019, eight percent of twelve to twenty-five year olds show a strong interest in politics, and a further 33 percent see themselves as interested. This means that interest has declined slightly compared to 2015, but viewed over time it is significantly higher than the results from 2002 to 2010.
The enthusiasm for politics does not extend to the prospect of spending the afternoons in a local party's club.
Young people are committed to individual topics, above all climate and environmental protection as the future field of our time, but also to digitization, women's or economic policy.
The reviled but important identity politics is not only a matter of an aging society, but above all that of a growing and young population.
Practical test while still at school
The willingness to get involved in movements and projects testifies to a new desire for politics. But the parties only benefit to a limited extent, as political general stores with image problems they appear unattractive, which has to do with the fact that you can become a member of one of their youth organizations, but at least in Hesse you are not allowed to vote locally.
There is not much that speaks against lowering the age for the right to vote in local elections to 16, but there is a lot in favor of it: incompetence - older young people have no monopoly on that, this is a social problem that can only be solved with political education. But this takes place centrally in the schools. How sensible would it be to thematize your own ballot as an illustrative and practical project, as it were. Especially since young people are declining the art of parliamentary compromise - and can sharpen their own profile based on the views of their classmates.
That would also be so important because the Shell Youth Study attests that some of the young people have an affinity for populist positions, for example by generally suspecting “the establishment” in politics and society. According to the researchers, this is also due to the fact that young people do not feel sufficiently asked and included. If this solidifies an anti-party reflex, it should also give food for thought to those parties that have so far opposed lowering the voting age because they fear it will strengthen their political opponents.