Gen Z protests: What the federal government is doing for young people

Youth protests What Black and Red does for the youth As of: October 31, 2026 • 11:09 a.m

The nationwide protests by young people raise the question: Are politicians doing too little for young people? Questions for two young MPs regarding pensions, military service and education.

“My generation was born into a broken world,” says Luke Hoß. The 25-year-old left-wing MP is on his way to France, where students have been protesting for weeks. As he says, he wants to learn from the movement there.

Konrad Körner, CSU representative from Erlangen, does not fundamentally disagree: "I understand the frustration of many young people." Affordable life, education, future opportunities - "all of this is no longer as obvious as it once was," says the 34-year-old. So what is the federal government doing for young people? A look at three fields.

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The first pension package keeps the pension level at 48 percent until 2031, although this puts a burden on the younger generation. The Union's young group ran against it last year. Also grains that abstained at the end.

Political scientist Pia Jaeger explains why pensioners often have priority in politics using simple arithmetic: 60 percent of those eligible to vote are already over 50. Parties are based on who they elect.

Körner from the CSU also points to the new retirement savings account: From 2027 onwards you will be able to save in ETFs supported by the state; these are “mega opportunities” for young people. In addition, there is the early start pension; the state gives ten euros a month for children born in 2020 and above. “Gen Z” itself comes away empty-handed. Luke Hoß from the Left fears that it is “a gift to the financial industry”.

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Young men born in 2008 and older have to go through the muster again, and it should start across the board in mid-2027. For Körner from the CSU, this is precaution in view of the threat situation: Every euro for the Bundeswehr ensures "that young people can continue to live in freedom and security in the future." Hoß counters: People who were not affected decided that 18-year-olds should "learn to shoot and kill." The Bundestag, which decided this, is on average almost 47 years old.

Political scientist Jaeger criticizes that young people were hardly asked for military service. It was only after pressure that a student representative was invited to the hearing in the Bundestag. In addition, there were “no processes at all” in which young people or their families were involved.

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BAföG will increase, but not until 2027: the flat-rate housing allowance will grow to 440 euros. However: According to the Moses Mendelssohn Institute, a room in a shared apartment nationwide cost an average of 510 euros at the beginning of the winter semester. For Hoß, the increase comes too late; price increases would have “eaten them up long ago”. For Körner, the increase is the result of a “long struggle.”

Where else is investing in youth? Through the StartChances program, the federal and state governments are investing around 20 billion euros in ten years in around 4,000 schools in difficult situations. In addition, the states can put money from the debt-financed special fund into schools, but there is no fixed share for this.

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Education researcher Nina Kolleck from the University of Potsdam says: Far too little is being invested in education and schools. "You have to go to a school and look at the school toilets, then we can see what state our education system is at." In fact, compared to the OECD (4.7 percent), Germany spends less of its economic output on education (4.4 percent).

Education only pays off late and that “may not be so crucial for the next elections,” says Kolleck. She sees federalism as the biggest blocker: it increases the prevailing inequality of opportunity because responsibility can be shifted to the states. Students in Bremen are sometimes two years behind those in Bavaria. "It can't be the case that it depends on where you were born."

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How much peaceful pressure can have an impact was shown this week with parental allowance: the planned reduction from 14 to twelve months is off the table after criticism. For the first time since 2007, the minimum and maximum rates are set to rise, albeit only slightly.

In France, the government gave in after weeks of student protests - with billions for education and new teaching positions. But there were repeated riots on the sidelines. Körner from the CSU draws the line for Germany: peaceful protest is “democracy in action” and “riot tourism” is “prevented, especially in Bavaria.”

Education researcher Kolleck, who herself lived in France, does not expect such scenes here. She hopes that it is about “the real issues.” If politicians don't take this seriously, others will step into the gap: Populist and authoritarian narratives have "a lot of potential," warns Kolleck, with simple solutions "that are not realistic." She believes that the fact that the smaller group of young people makes no difference at the ballot box is a false assumption: they have “an incredible mobilization power.”

Your advice to the federal government: let young people from different families and federal states have a say in citizens' councils and expert commissions. They still wanted to participate. But: "There were also phases in history when young people no longer wanted to be integrated, but instead turned against the system."

"Still ambivalent picture", Rupert Wiederwald, WDR, on the situation in Cologne before GenZ protests tagesschau, Das Erste, October 31, 2026 • 12:00 p.m. Gen Z Federal Government Pension Military Service Education This topic in the program: NDR Info | News | Oct 30, 2026 | 06:00 a.m. Tagesschau24 | News | Oct 30, 2026 | 2:00 p.m