#voteyoung – Young people in politics

16.11.2020; by Marie Groß and Jule Ahles

When the preparations for the local and regional elections on 16. November started and posters were put up on all the lanterns and trees in Aarhus, one thing was surprising: how many young faces were depicted on them.

Unlike in Germany, for example, it seems to be quite common for young people to run for local politics – and also to be supported by their party. For example, 26-year-old candidate Laura Bryhl is running as the top candidate for Enhedslisten – De Rød-Grønne, as is 20-year-old Katrine Skov-Hansen for Alternativet. Other parties are also putting young names at the top of their lists. In total, 37 of the 200 candidates are under or 30 years old.

We wanted to know what motivates young people to enter politics and whether they face any obstacles because of their age:

Young Polititians

Whether the young candidates’ commitment to each other will be reflected in the election results will become clear after the votes have been counted. In the previous local and regional councils of 2017, 5.46% and 5.65% respectively were young people under 30.

This story is aimed for young people in Europe.

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