The right could win big in Europe thanks to young people

In four days, Europeans will go to the polls in 27 countries to elect a new European Parliament, with millions of young people voting for the first time.

In some countries, the voting age has been lowered to 16, so minors in Belgium, Germany, Austria, Greece and Malta will be able to vote in these elections.

“This is a very good opportunity for us because it gives us a voice that we never had before,” said Mare Verlinde, a 17-year-old student from Belgium.

“I think Europe needs to step up and become stronger – we can’t always rely on NATO,” her friend Auguste Duchene said seriously.

For this group of friends, and many of their peers, these European elections are significant in terms of security. They grew up being told that Europe was safe, but in the past two years that belief has evaporated.

Seventeen-year-old Lore Sleeckx worried about war in Europe.

“My history teacher said they wouldn’t be surprised if there was a world war in the future,” she said—and all her friends nodded in agreement. “It really scares me.”

In the 2019 European elections, record numbers of young people voted, with their votes overwhelmingly going to the Green Party, which advocates for strong climate policies. At the time, it was called the “green wave.”

But five years is a long time in politics.

If the polls are correct, an unprecedented number of young voters, many of whom are broadly Eurosceptic, will consider voting for right-wing and far-right parties.

“We want to change the status quo, which is why many of my friends vote for the right,” Bence Szabo told me while attending an anti-EU farmers’ protest in Brussels. The rumble of tractors merged with voices from the stage denouncing the European elite.

“Everything that comes from the right is demonized,” said the 25-year-old from Hungary, “but we can actually solve the problems that the left is trying to solve and failing.”

Of course, young Europeans have different concerns. But this generation has grown up during the pandemic and is now worried about multiple fronts: war in Europe, climate change, an uncertain job market and a lack of affordable housing.

“We are not extremists. We are just angry,” explained Lazar Potrebic, 25, who is from Serbia’s Hungarian minority and has the right to vote.

He and many of his colleagues are worried about the future and feel their concerns are not being listened to by the more traditional parties.

“We feel like our needs are not being met. People our age are taking very important life steps. We’re getting our first jobs, thinking about starting families… But if you look around Europe, rent prices are skyrocketing — — and it’s hard to find a job.

Of course, the feeling of not being heard and not involved as a young person is nothing new. But Dave Sinardet, a political science professor at the Free University of Brussels, said many far-right parties are actively seeking young people’s votes.

“The radical right spreads anti-establishment sentiment,” he told the BBC. “They have a bit of a rebellious vibe — especially when it comes to their anti-woke agenda — that appeals to young people.”

For Spanish Vox party leader Santiago Abascal, hot topics are transgender rights and abortion.

Immigration is another issue pushing young voters to the right. Some 380,000 people crossed EU borders illegally last year, the highest number since 2016.

“The EU’s stance on immigration is too relaxed,” said Giorgio, a 28-year-old Italian. He will vote for Giorgio Meloni’s Italian brother – arguably the biggest success story of the European far right.

He believes the EU should have a migration policy more similar to that of Hungary, Slovakia and Poland, which have all challenged the bloc’s new migration deal, which gives dissenting countries the right to pay rather than accept new arrivals.

“They were criticized mercilessly when they built the fence; but the reality is that what the EU is doing is not working,” George said. “We don’t know who will join: people are being ignored, they may have criminal records – which means Europe is less safe.

Far-right politicians are also better at grabbing the attention of young people online: their social media strategies are unparalleled.

The best example is French politician Jordan Bardella, a charismatic 28-year-old leader of national rallies who tops the European election lists. He has 1.2 million followers on TikTok and is making his party appeal to France’s young people – one selfie video at a time. A survey showed that 36% of French people under the age of 24 support him.

“TikTok and Instagram fit the type of message the radical right wants to spread,” said Dave Sinardet. “Simple, non-nuanced videos about issues like immigration, security and gender.”

In Italy, Matteo Salvini of the far-right League launched a campaign on Instagram with the slogan “Less Europe, More Italy”. He posted artificial intelligence-generated images suggesting that “more Europe” meant being forced to eat insects, men with Jesus-like beards giving birth, and the unforgivable sin of eating pineapple on pizza.

“These messages trigger emotional responses, which is why algorithms elevate them, especially on TikTok,” Professor Sinardet said. “The far right invested in social media early on – and now they are reaping the rewards. “Return.”

More than six in 10 young EU citizens say they will vote in the upcoming European elections. This time, they may not be a “green wave” but the key to the most significant push to the right since the EU was founded.

This could fundamentally reshape Europe’s agenda on issues such as climate, migration and support for Ukraine.

Bence Szabó from Hungary has no doubt that this will make EU legislators more relevant to younger generations.

At least, that’s what they’re promising on TikTok.