"Young People in Germany: High Confidence in Democracy, Doubt in Politics"

German youth appear to have an ambivalent relationship with the form of government known as democracy. A recent study by the Bertelsmann Foundation shows that 18- to 30-year-olds in Germany display an above-average level of trust in democracy, yet there is marked skepticism towards political decision-makers. In a representative survey, 59 percent of young Germans confirmed their trust in democracy – a figure that exceeds the 50 percent average in nine other European countries examined. Nevertheless, there is a clear distrust towards the acting institutions: Over half of the respondents from this age group (52 percent) express no confidence in the government, while 45 percent are skeptical towards the parliament. From the perspective of the Bertelsmann Foundation, there is an urgent need to take action to prevent further fueling this mistrust and instead to restore faith in the problem-solving competence of politics through targeted initiatives. Moreover, general concerns about the future are common among the survey participants. One third of the young and 42 percent of the older sample participants expressed fear that the situation regarding issues such as climate change and living standards could worsen. A direct comparison with peers in other European countries indicates that young Germans are, on average, more pessimistic. To assess the mood, a total of 2,248 individuals in Germany were surveyed between February and April of the previous year, including over 500 young adults aged between 18 and 30 years. In parallel, analogous surveys were conducted in other European countries to draw a comparative picture.