Le Pen and Jordan Bardella (in suit), the president of the National Rally, have attracted the support of younger voters with no memory of World War II.Credit: Bloomberg
Ben Ansell, a professor at the University of Oxford and host of the podcast What’s Wrong with Democracy?, points out that in Germany last month, where the AfD secured a resounding victory in the Thuringia state election, almost 40 per cent of 18-to-29-year-olds voted for the AfD. In contrast, only one in five voters over 70 chose the AfD.
In June’s European Union elections, France’s far-right National Rally was the most popular party among 18-to-34-year-olds, with 32 per cent of the vote – much higher than that for over-65s.
Young people in France are being drawn to candidates such as 29-year-old Jordan Bardella.Credit: AP
Despite being less likely to vote than the rest of the population, young people are nonetheless being drawn towards non-mainstream alternatives – especially when these are represented by young people like them, such as 29-year-old Jordan Bardella in France.
“Some people have argued that it’s [due to] concerns about the war in Ukraine,” Ansell says. “Other people have argued that it’s a response to COVID, or a response to the housing crisis … it’s getting on the housing ladder and things like that, having the same quality of life they thought their elders had.”
While Kickl’s radicalism might have won him the election, it is also the reason why he is unlikely to become chancellor.
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Just like in the Netherlands, where Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom also came first, his rivals have labelled him a “threat to democracy” and vowed to never allow him to lead a government.
Either way, Kickl’s brand of politics is not new, nor is it isolated. It’s part of a new trend the mainstream ignores at its peril.
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Publish date : 2024-10-03 01:16:00
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