ROB SCHMITZ, HOST:
I am usually in Berlin, covering Germany and Central Europe. And one story that recently caught my eye came out of Germany's national election a few weeks ago. I like to look at demographics after an election, and in this one, something really stood out. Nearly half of all German voters between the ages of 18 and 24 cast their ballots for one of two parties, the party on the far right of Germany's political spectrum and the one on the far left of it. And Germany is not alone. Young people throughout Europe are doing the same. So why is this happening? My colleague Esme Nicholson and I tried to find out.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).
SCHMITZ: Tens of thousands of people marched through the streets of Berlin on International Women's Day, many of them young women like 24-year-old Elina Wuttke.
ELINA WUTTKE: (Speaking German).
SCHMITZ: "I feel that society is becoming more and more polarized," says Wuttke. "You can see it in the election results, whether it's between young and old or men and women. It's all divided." Wuttke reflects this division, too. She was among 35% of women between the age of 18 and 24 who voted for the far-left Die Linke party, a party that has its roots in the Cold War-era East German Communist Party, a party that advocates for a socialist state, aims to root out capitalism and is staunchly anti-military. Fellow marcher Cecilia Bartlewsky voted for the party, too.
CECILIA BARTLEWSKY: (Speaking German).
SCHMITZ: "I voted for them because they demand the super rich be taxed at the same level as the average earner," says Bartlewsky. "They're also supportive of women, and they fight against policies made to benefit rich, white cis men."
And while young German women voted in droves for the far left, more than a quarter of Young German men voted for the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AFD, party, a party whose members rail against immigrants, repeat Nazi slogans and support Russia in its war on Ukraine.
Political communication strategist Johannes Hillje says, these results seem baffling. But he thinks he knows why both German men and women are heading to parties on the political extremes.
JOHANNES HILLJE: And this is first because they offer really clear positions in a very complex political environment. Second, they are seen as anti-elite, and especially the youth has been pretty upset with the political elite in the past years.
SCHMITZ: But Hillje says perhaps the most important reason for young voters heading to the extremes are the devices they are holding in their hands.
HILLJE: Both parties are pretty successful on social media. Both parties are actually the front-runners when it comes to reach on TikTok, especially, but also on other channels.
SCHMITZ: The far-right AfD has exceled at using social media to spread its message, says Hillje.
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MAXIMILIAN KRAH: (Speaking German).
SCHMITZ: A viral social media post shows AfD politician Maximilian Krah saying, "real men are right-wing. Real men have ideals. Real men are patriots. That," says Krah, "is how to get a girlfriend." And then there's German right-wing social media influencer phenom Naomi Seibt.
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NAOMI SEIBT: I am proud to be German. And it's OK to be proud to be German.
SCHMITZ: Seibt's posts, many in English, have had a far-reaching influence, extending to a key advisor inside the White House.
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ELON MUSK: It's OK to be proud to be German. This is a very important principle.
SCHMITZ: That's Elon Musk, reciting, word for word, one of 24-year-old Naomi Seibt's popular social media posts to an AfD rally last year. Seibt has been nicknamed The Musk Whisperer for her influence on the Tesla founder, and comms strategist Hillje says her influence, due to her English posts, have made waves across the Atlantic.
HILLJE: Naomi Seibt is building a bridge between the far right in the U.S. and the far right in Germany. And she became, I would say, a translator of German politics for Elon Musk because she was posting in English using AfD narratives.
SCHMITZ: Hillje says, traditional German political discourse lacks emotion, but the messaging from both the far right and the far left over social media is full of emotion, so much, he says, that it's become manipulative. It's a style he thinks that is turning politics in Germany and throughout Europe into entertainment rather than how to effectively run a government. NPR producer Esme Nicholson brought us that reporting from Berlin. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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