Generation Z ready to take the reins – POLITICO

With 200,000 followers on TikTok and 44,000 on Instagram, the part-time influencer shares snippets of her private life, from thrift shopping to videos in which she explains to her followers how the Brussels maze works.

French liberal candidate Shannon Seban (28 years old), registered on the pro-Macron electoral list Need for Europe (A Need For Europe) is another Gen Z using social media – alongside traditional campaigns – to demystify European policy-making.

“The most effective way is to go out and talk with people,” Seban told POLITICO. “We need to talk about Europe, not just two months before the elections, but we need to talk about Europe every day. »

Yet politicians say they are surprised when people avoid voting booths during European elections, she added, noting that in France, 76 percent of eligible voters aged 18 to 34 do not have the right to vote. intention to vote. “But if we don’t use our right to vote, that means we’re giving up.”

In Germany, 4.8 million people aged 16 to 22 will be able to vote next week. An examination of the voting behavior of 18-29 year olds in 2019 shows that the Greens received more votes than the Christian Democrats and Socialists combined.

The Greens’ youngest candidate, Can Diego Aru, told POLITICO that “young people in particular feel like they are being left behind and not being taken seriously.”