Strong Surge of Young Men Identifying as Right-Wing Seen in Germany

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Young men in Germany are increasingly identifying as right-wing, with one in four between 12 and 25 classifying themselves as conservative, according to a major poll.

The Shell Youth Study 2024, which surveyed 2,509 people living in Germany born between 1998 and 2012, recorded a significant spike in right-leaning young men. Twenty-five per cent said that they are either ‘somewhat right-wing’ or ‘right-wing’, compared to less than one in five during the last survey in 2019.

Meanwhile, just 11 per cent of young female respondents described themselves as on the right politically, which represented no change over the previous survey five years ago.

However, young women were significantly more supportive of so-called “woke” issues, with 72 per cent preferring a “diverse, colourful society” compared to 56 per cent of young men. Young women were also significantly more concerned about feminism by a margin of 59 to 20 per cent and veganism by 21 to 8 per cent.

The disparity comes amid a growing divide between young men and women globally. A Gallup poll earlier this year found that U.S. women between 18 and 30 were 30 points more left-leaning than their male counterparts, while six years previously, there was no real gap between the two.

The pollsters also recorded similar divides in the UK and in non-Western nations such as China, South Korea, and Tunisia.

The rightward shift among young men in Germany has coincided with a growing trend of young voters backing the populist anti-mass migration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, with a survey earlier this year finding that it has become the party of choice for 14 and 29-year-olds nationwide.

This was backed up by recent state elections, in which the youth vote flocked to the AfD more than to any other party in Thuringia and Saxony.

The Shell survey found that there are growing populist sentiments among young people in Germany, with 55 per cent agreeing with the statement “most of the measures
taken by the state do not benefit me personally”.

Although a majority were still in favour of offering protection for supposed asylum seekers in Germany, 48 per cent said that they believe the government cares more about refugees than natives in need of help.

Additionally, 44 per cent of young people now believe that “a strong hand must once again bring order to our state” compared to 33 per cent in 2019.

The survey found that among the concerns facing young people in Germany, the potential of a broader war in Europe was chief among them, with 81 per cent fearing conflict. This was followed by concerns over the poor economic situation in Germany, with 67 per cent listing poverty as something they fear.