In Germany you can also vote in most elections at 16. And you can also vote for the European Parliament with 16. I think that is good, since the people who are currently young will be most affected by many of the decisions taken now. It also recognizes that the young people are also important and encourages political participation from a young age. And nobody is forced to vote, so people who are disinterested in politics will just note vote.
It might be just my subjective perspective, but to me it feels like 16 year olds are much easier to radicalise, or be fed half truths. They are in the age when you feel like you want to change the world, but you might also still believe in fairy tales and/or simplified scenarios. I hope I’m either wrong or this change won’t go through, but I’m getting “propaganda audience” vibes.
I think there is some truth to that. There is definitely a difference in the way young and old people vote(d). When looking at the last election for the European Parliament you can see that young people voted way less for the established parties and way more for small parties source (German). But that is not necessary connected to propaganda. Old people just have their “default party” they vote for since 50 years and young people mostly want change. At I think this principle will never change.
In Germany you can also vote in most elections at 16. And you can also vote for the European Parliament with 16. I think that is good, since the people who are currently young will be most affected by many of the decisions taken now. It also recognizes that the young people are also important and encourages political participation from a young age. And nobody is forced to vote, so people who are disinterested in politics will just note vote.
It might be just my subjective perspective, but to me it feels like 16 year olds are much easier to radicalise, or be fed half truths. They are in the age when you feel like you want to change the world, but you might also still believe in fairy tales and/or simplified scenarios. I hope I’m either wrong or this change won’t go through, but I’m getting “propaganda audience” vibes.
I think there is some truth to that. There is definitely a difference in the way young and old people vote(d). When looking at the last election for the European Parliament you can see that young people voted way less for the established parties and way more for small parties source (German). But that is not necessary connected to propaganda. Old people just have their “default party” they vote for since 50 years and young people mostly want change. At I think this principle will never change.