Young Berliners Say Politics Ignores Their Concerns Ahead of Election

A large majority of young Berliners believe the city's political leaders are failing to take their concerns seriously, according to a new poll released ahead of the upcoming election for the Abgeordnetenhaus, Berlin's state parliament.

The survey, part of the BerlinTrend series conducted by infratest dimap on behalf of rbb24 Abendschau and rbb 88.8, found that 76 percent of respondents aged 16 to 34 said Berlin's political establishment does a poor job addressing their issues. Only 15 percent said they felt well represented.

The gap in perception extended across generations. Among all age groups surveyed, 68 percent agreed that the concerns of young people receive too little attention from policymakers, while 19 percent said those concerns were well accounted for.

Uncertainty about the election itself was also widespread among younger voters. More than half, 53 percent, said they did not know enough about the candidates or party platforms to make an informed choice, compared with 40 percent who said they felt adequately informed. Among the general population, the two groups were evenly split, at 47 percent each.

Asked which party they would prefer to lead the next Berlin Senate, young respondents favored the Left Party (Die Linke) by a wide margin, with 38 percent naming it as their top choice. If Berlin's mayor were elected directly, Left Party lead candidate Elif Eralp would draw support from 20 percent of young voters, the poll found. Six in ten young respondents, however, said they remained undecided or declined to answer.

Housing and rents topped the list of concerns among younger Berliners, followed by public safety, transportation and immigration policy, a ranking that closely mirrors the priorities expressed by voters of all ages.

Younger voters were notably more open than the general public to the idea of expropriating large housing companies, a proposal that has featured prominently in Berlin's political debate over rising rents. Among 16- to 34-year-olds, 46 percent said they considered expropriation the right approach, while 29 percent disagreed. Across all age groups, 46 percent rejected the idea outright.

Opinions diverged sharply on the question of military service. A new policy requiring young men to undergo medical screening before deciding whether to volunteer for military duty was opposed by 53 percent of young respondents, with only 35 percent in favor. Among the broader population, the picture reversed, with 54 percent supporting the policy.

Financial anxiety about life in the German capital ran higher among younger residents than among the population overall. Nearly two-thirds, 64 percent, of young eligible voters said they were very worried about whether they would be able to afford living in Berlin in the future, compared with 32 percent who expressed only mild concern. Among all voters surveyed, worry was evenly split at 49 percent on each side.

The BerlinTrend poll was commissioned ahead of the state election for the Abgeordnetenhaus, in which Berliners will choose the makeup of their parliament and, indirectly, the next governing mayor.