Germany’s Young Generation Chooses Less Conservatively or Right-Wing, Discovering the Left as a New Political Home. This is shown by the special Trend Study “Youth in Germany 2025” for the Bundestag election.
“The five most popular parties among 18- to 29-year-olds are the Greens and AfD (both 18%), the CDU/CSU (16%), the Left (13%) and the SPD (12%). Compared to 2024, the AfD and the Union have lost significant support among the young (both 4%), the SPD and the Greens were stable (± 0%) and the Left has gained 6% in popularity as the new darling of the young” summarizes study leader Simon Schnetzer.
The Left appears to be particularly strong in attracting young people who want to engage in the struggle against the AfD and are seeking answers to pressing questions of social justice, such as affordable housing or a secure pension. Last year, the study authors had observed a clear rightward trend among young people, which was confirmed in the European and eastern German state elections in 2024, but it now seems that this trend will not continue.
While the Greens have a significantly higher approval rate among young women (24%) than among young men (14%), the opposite is true for the AfD (15% among women, 21% among men) and the CDU/CSU (12% among women, 20% among men).
Looking at the 18- to 21-year-olds, who will vote for the first time in a Bundestag election, the ranking of the five most popular parties looks very different. The AfD is in first place (20%), followed closely by the Left (19%) and the Greens (14%), the CDU/CSU (12%) and the SPD (11%).
Already in the Trend Study “Youth in Germany 2024” 62% of the 18- to 21-year-olds said that social media are their most important sources of information for news and politics. “Among first-time voters, the AfD and the Left are at the front, with a particularly strong focus on a digital campaign in social media” said study author Kilian Hampel.
“The hype around the Left is due to its strong focus on social justice, affordable housing and positioning against the right. Many young people say these issues are decisive for their vote and that they do not see them adequately represented by other parties” explained researcher Klaus Hurrelmann.
The study’s look at the developments of party preferences over the past four years shows a volatile young electorate, which is disillusioned with the previous government coalition, but has not yet switched to the opposition parties, the researchers said.
Many young people cite a lack of feeling of security and a missing credible vision for how Germany and its people can be better as reasons for their disillusionment with the federal government. While the AfD and CDU/CSU profited from this loss of trust in the past, both parties are now losing ground among young people. The Left, on the other hand, has even overtaken the SPD in the favor of young voters.
Young people’s expectations of the next government differ strongly, especially on the topics of climate protection, right-wing extremism and migration, within the generation. What all young people wish for is a reduction in the rising cost of living, more security and social cohesion.