From Germany and France to Poland and Spain, the far-right made inroads into the youth vote in key states in this EU election - as a generation that has grown up amid constant crises seeks new answers and follows politicians fluent in TikTok and YouTube.
Young voters, traditionally perceived to be more left-wing, drove the wave of support for environmental parties at the last EU election in 2019, earning the nickname “Generation Greta” after the young Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.
But following the pandemic, the Ukraine war and cost of living crisis, many shifted their support this year towards far-right populist parties that tapped into their concerns, fuelling their overall rise in the June 6-9 EU parliament poll.
With the leaders of Europe’s often upstart ethno-nationalist, anti-establishment movements mastering new social media better than their mainstream counterparts, they are earning cachet as a subversive counterculture among some young people.
They appeal in particular to young men who feel left behind and censored by an increasingly “woke” mainstream, analysts say.
I think you’re missing my point, I’m not defending what we have done over there, I’m explaining why the right has gained more traction. It’s got nothing to do with the other crap they’re trying to explain away as the cause. It’s literally because of immigration, the amount of new violence that has shown up in the last 2 decades because of how they’re letting in these extremist.
It absolutely is, and the extremist who are showing up and marching and wanting to bring the issues and rule of law into democratic countries. The people see this, don’t like it and vote for the group that says they put a stop to it.
The truth sometimes hurts, but that’s what’s happening here.