On the 8th of October, we watched in disbelief as the right winged AFD party climbed to second place in Hessen’s election. Die Alternative für Deutschland (The Alternative for Germany) grew with 18.4% of the votes. This means that after the CDU, the right wing party had one of the biggest vote increases (+5.3). What many ask themselves is how has this party fought their way so far to the top? How does a party that makes statements such as (translated) “There are no skilled workers coming, but an army of have-nots and good-for-nothings” about immigrants get so many votes in this country?

The general acceptance for hard, right winged opinions has essentially grown. With inflicting fear on the public, the party has managed to become more powerful than ever in Hessen. Especially in the countryside, in smaller and more rural areas in the state of Hessen, the AFD has exploited the constant anxiety that comes with the 21st century. Things like new immigration policies, climate change, the COVID-19 virus and others are issues that we experience on a day-to-day basis. Automatically, with the negative news that we are constantly being fed by the algorithms implemented in our social media, our fear for the future rises. Grotesquely, we can observe that this party doesn’t use solutions to these problems as election campaigns, but rather everything that the current government is going wrong. They create the illusion that the people can’t see the ‘horrors’ of the government, and that the AFD is there to save them. This delusory guidance caused the public to build an attachment to the party, and therefore vote for them in Hessens elections. 

However, it is not only the party itself that increase voters attraction. The continuous decline for dissatisfaction of the current “Ampel-Regierung” (SPD, FDP, and Die Grünen) quickened the pace at which the AFD grew, and was also one of the main causes of this year’s good result. In surveys that went out to the public, the fall of votes for the Ampel has now reached a bitter 38%. One of the topics that cause them the highest loss in votes seems to be the topic of migration in Germany. It seems people regard current interior minister Nancy Faeser as weak and indirect in terms of this issue. And so, dissatisfaction with the current authorities has fuelled their growth.

Furthermore, over-70 year olds voted the right winged party less than other age groups, it was found that the amount of 30-year-olds that voted for the AFD is at a shocking 19%. This is a huge difference to what is always expected of the average voting age, the question being how did the AFD get through to the young minds of this country? The answer is, as always, social media. This includes YouTube and TikTok,  where they have the most subscribers out of all other parties. They use the algorithm to their advantage: a new account on TikTok that writes the word “Bundestag” (an assembly that is voted by the public where policies are discussed) in the search bar will find eight out of ten videos to be pro AFD. Also, here they get their followers with the use of emotion: mainly worry and anger. Instead of supplying the algorithm with facts, something that teenagers won’t pay attention to. In stark contrast, the AFD connects with their viewers on a psychological level. In a nutshell, the AFD is challenging conventional thinking regarding age and politics by appealing to younger people via social media, appealing to emotions and facilitating algorithms rather than ‘boring’ facts. 

So what can we take away from this? The AFD’s surprise surge to second place in Hessens election is a reflection of the right-wing ideas’ growing acceptance, which is fuelled by increasing fear and in reflection, the exploitation of these fears. Discontent with how the current government handles key issues is another reason for their voter growth. Notably, the AFD’s success in attracting younger people is a result of their skilful use of social media, which emphasises appealing to feelings above logic. This election serves as a stark reminder of the influence of social media on the discussion of politics, underscoring the necessity of critical and informed participation with political issues.