18 days before the election

First-time voters: “We finally want to be heard!”

There was great interest among the 170 young people at the discussion event.

(Bild: Bissuti Kristian/KRISTIAN BISSUTI)

170 pupils from the Piaristengymnasium will step into the polling booth for the very first time on September 29, 2024. But what do they want from politics? What is important to them, what do they demand? A new study shows that four out of five young people do not feel represented by politics.

The year 2024 is not only an important election year in and for Austria. More than half of the world's population is being called to vote in parliamentary or presidential elections this year. What hardly anyone knows is that Austria and Malta are the only countries in the European Union where you can vote at national level at the age of 16.

360,000 people

will take part in a national election for the first time on September 29, 2024. There are 6.4 million eligible voters in total.

Around 170 pupils in grades 6 to 8 at BG8 (Piaristengymnasium) are eligible to vote for the first time in the National Council elections on September 29. In order to give them some guidance in times of election campaigns and fake news, the Altpiaristner invited the renowned political expert Thomas Hofer to a discussion event. After his one-hour analysis, an intensive discussion developed among the students.

But what are the young people concerned about? What issues are particularly on their minds? What do they look out for in political parties?

Disenchantment with politics looks different
Several of the young people's questions revolved around the possible rise of the FPÖ, which could become the party with the most votes for the first time in the upcoming National Council elections, and the consequences of this. The increasing shift to the right in Europe is also seen as a danger by the students. There was also a debate about the fact that it is a problem that issues in politics are only addressed on an emotional level.

The upcoming election is also about our future. We finally want to be heard! Politicians should not benefit themselves.

Jasmin Gumpinger (18)

Bild: Krone KREATIV/Kristian Bissuti

I don't yet know which party I will vote for in the National Council elections, but I'm already looking closely at the respective election manifestos.

Tom Winkler (16)

Bild: Krone KREATIV/Kristian Bissuti

The main thing I look for in a political party is that it has a stable election program and doesn't change its mind too often just because the majority wants it to.

Carla Clausen (17)

Bild: Krone KREATIV/Kristian Bissuti

The issues of human rights, housing and justice are very important to me. I will therefore definitely be voting for a left-wing party in the election.

Sebastian Grondinger (16)

Bild: Krone KREATIV/Kristian Bissuti

17-year-old Tom Winkler is currently studying the election manifestos of the campaigning parties. What his friends and family will vote for is also important to him. Sebastian is calling on politicians to come up with concrete solutions to poverty in old age and the housing shortage. "It's not acceptable that there are pensioners who can't afford food," says the 16-year-old. What is striking about the Krone survey is that five of the six young people questioned do not yet know who they will be voting for in the election in 18 days' time.