ARD-DeutschlandTrend: The vast majority understands youth protests

82 percent of people in Germany think that politics does not take the concerns of young people into account well enough. The young generation itself trusts two things in particular in the ARD-DeutschlandTrend

ARD-DeutschlandTrend Large majority understands youth protests As of: November 5th, 2026 • 6:01 p.m

82 percent of people in Germany think that politics does not take the concerns of young people into account well enough. The young generation itself trusts two parties in particular in the ARD-DeutschlandTrend.

Tens of thousands of people followed the call of the “Gen Z regulates” initiative, and young people demonstrated in many cities over the weekend to make their concerns heard. Another day of protest has already been announced for November 20th.

The protests are overwhelmingly supported by the population. Almost three quarters of Germans understand the concerns of the demonstrators - but do not believe violence is justified: 95 percent reject violence against people or property as a political means.

In some cities there were riots on the sidelines of the protests, for example in the city center of Frankfurt am Main, where several shops were looted and police officers were injured.

“Gen Z regulates” expressly distanced itself from violence. According to previous findings, the violent groups were not clearly attributable to the initiative.

Infratest dimap asked 1,297 people in a representative survey for their opinion on the concerns of young people for the ARD-DeutschlandTrend. The survey took place Monday to Wednesday this week.

Nine out of ten respondents consider participation in registered demonstrations to be a justified means of asserting their political point of view - but a good two thirds do not want to accept road blockades.

According to protest researcher Jannis Julien Grimm from the Free University of Berlin, there is also a common experience of political powerlessness behind the protests: "Young people will feel the long-term consequences of today's decisions particularly strongly, but at the same time have comparatively little political weight," he told the tagesschau.

A majority of the population can understand this feeling of not being heard: 82 percent say that the concerns of young people are not well taken into account by politicians in Germany.

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The images from last weekend's demonstrations have reinvigorated the discussion about the situation of young people in Germany. Already in the ARD-DeutschlandTrend from October, 18 to 34 year olds in particular were worried that they would not be able to maintain their standard of living in the future.

The older generations also understand this: A majority of all age groups currently say that today's young generation has a harder time than previous generations in building their own wealth. Nevertheless, many (54 percent) still believe that everyone in Germany can achieve prosperity through hard work and performance - with the exception of 18 to 34 year olds: a majority of them (55 percent) do not trust the promise of prosperity through their own performance.

In a speech at the protests in Berlin, a spokeswoman for the initiative, Kaja Schwab, also criticized this promise: Young people were told that "if we just try hard enough, we will be fine." Instead, life has become difficult to afford and the young generation should be "forced into military service."

The initiative rejects compulsory military service. The regulation, which has been in force since January 2026, stipulates the following: All young men born in 2008 and above should be screened and must fill out a questionnaire. 64 percent of those surveyed believe this regulation is correct. Among 18 to 34 year olds, 48 percent rate the new regulations on military service as right and 42 percent as wrong. According to the current regulations, military service remains voluntary.

The protesters are also specifically calling for more investment in schools, affordable housing, social justice and more climate protection.

But who does the young generation as a whole trust to stand up for their concerns? Their focus is primarily on the Left and the AfD. The 18 to 34 year olds are most likely to trust the Left Party (29 percent) and the AfD (21 percent) to support the interests of young people, less the Greens (twelve percent) and hardly the Union (five percent) or the SPD (three percent).

The average population is most likely to see the Greens (18 percent), the AfD (18 percent) and the Left (15 percent) as having competence for the concerns of young people.

When it comes to specific tasks - for example in education policy or the challenge of creating affordable housing - Generation Z and younger Millennials are most likely to see competence in the Left (20 and 32 percent) and the AfD (18 and 19 percent). When it comes to the general issue of social justice, from the perspective of younger people, competence lies predominantly with the Left (32 percent), alongside the SPD (17 percent) and the AfD (14 percent).

The governing parties CDU/CSU and SPD can still score points in these policy areas with those over 65 years of age. Climate policy alone remains the responsibility of the Greens: both the younger and older generations are most likely to trust them to pursue good climate and environmental policy.

What is noteworthy, however, is that in all areas around a fifth of all respondents do not trust any party to solve the respective task.

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However, frustration with politics is not just limited to the younger generation. Dissatisfaction with the work of the federal government also prevailed in all age groups in November. Overall, 87 percent are currently dissatisfied. 85 percent are currently dissatisfied with the work of Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), and here too dissatisfaction predominates in all age groups.

If there were a federal election on Sunday, the AfD would remain at 27 percent. The CDU/CSU would still have 20 percent, the Greens 16 percent. The SPD would remain at 13 percent and the Left at eleven percent.

The FDP would be further below the mandate threshold at three percent (-1 compared to October), as would the BSW at three percent. All other parties currently have a total of seven percent.