Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz has sought to reach out to the youth after a drubbing in the European parliamentary elections. It is understood that large sections of the youth have turned to the far-right in recent years in the wake of a series of crises that Europe has faced, ranging from immigration to employment and culture wars. Speaking at an event at a progressives’ summit in Berlin, Scholz said the best way to deter the youth from turning to the far-right is giving them hope.
The best way to win back young voters from the hold of the far-right is by giving them hope, security, and respect that everyone from an “untrained Amazon worker” to “Elon Musk’s son” can live without fear of the future, said Scholz, as per The Guardian. In the recent European Parliament’s elections, the far-right AfD secured 15.9 per cent votes as against 13.9 of Scholz’s ruling SPD. The AfD has frequently been associated with the neo-Nazi movements. Ahead of the EU elections, it was expelled from the Identity and Democracy (ID) bloc of Europe, which is led by Marine Le Pen of France’s National Rally party.
‘We have to work very hard’ Scholz said that hard work is required to deter the youth from turning to far-right and make a world they can rely on. “We have to work very hard to give security to people about the future and we have to tackle all the relevant questions that are important for them,” said Scholz. The questions they need to address for the sake of the young voters are those of labour rights, global security, climate protection, artificial intelligence, and a world order they can count on, said Scholz, as per The Guardian. Scholz further said, “The young are not supporting the far right – some of them did. So I would say we have to discuss these topics and develop a perspective where things are running in the right direction…I’m working for this.”
Schols zeroed in on the uncertainty about the future that’s driving the surge of far-right and other right-wing populists in Europe. He went on to say that the lack of economic disparity and an increased sense of security are therefore responsible to prevent the march of far-right among the youth.
Support for far-right as protest vote While there is indeed support for the right-wing extremists in some sections of Europe, the support for the right is also seen as a protest vote in Europe. Following a string of crises, ranging from the questions of immigration and security to the economic policies, that the centrists and left-wing leaders of Europe could not manage well over the years, the voters have started turning to the right in protest to the status quo and not necessarily in commitment to the far-right ideas.
Ankita Dutta, a scholar of the European right-wing politics at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), earlier told Firstpost that this protest vote should, however, not be mistaken as a momentary development as these parties have developed a dedicated base and have build a full-fledged politics of resentment. “These issues added to the disillusionment and insecurity of people and fortified their beliefs that these issues have not been tackled properly by mainstream parties. Therefore, it is more of a protest vote. But that should not be taken as a momentary development because these parties now have a dedicated base among the lower economic sections of the society who have faced the brunt of economic slowdown and increasing migration,” said Dutta, an Assistant Professor at the Centre for European Studies of JNU’s School of International Studies. The protest vote is also expected to be seen in the United Kingdom in the next month’s general elections where the Conservatives are expected to be routed by the Labour Party. While the voters in Europe turn to the right in protest, the British voters are expected to turn to the left in a protest against the status quo.
