GERMANY - 16-Year-Olds to Vote in EU Election
As Germany’s 16- and 17-year-olds wait for a train these days, they’re regularly faced with numerous posters designed especially with them in mind.
The 1,000 posters are part of a nationwide competition to encourage young people to vote in [the] European elections.
“Young people are currently in a phase of life where they are making their first important decisions. We want to reach them in that phase, and the ambiguity is our hook—the first kiss, the first relationship, the ‘first time’—to have a poster that stands out, showing all the benefits of the EU.”
This is the first year people as young as 16 can vote in the elections for the European Parliament. As well as the posters, which come in six different versions, the EU campaign is running over a million ads. The goal is to hit the right nerve—to appeal to young people and not scare them off.
“If we can persuade just a few young people to vote in the European elections with our posters, we will be satisfied.”
“Voting from the age of 16 is an important step to compensate for a demographic disadvantage and to boost the value of young people’s voices at the political level,” said Delara Burkhardt. “Our society is increasingly aging, and young people’s perspectives are too rarely heard in the political debate.”
Within Germany, 16-year-olds are eligible to vote in state elections in six states. But for that age to become eligible for voting in national elections, Germany’s constitution would need to be amended.
The previous minimum voting age, 18, has led to an imbalance. Due to Germany’s aging population, older people make up a greater percentage of the total voters.
In Germany’s 2021 federal election, 39% of voters were over the age of 60 and only 14% were between the ages of 18 and 30.
-www.dw.com, 19 May 2024
Arno's Commentary
From Biblical perspectives, the age of adulthood begins at 20. That’s why globally, adulthood has been recognized as 21 years of age.
That has changed. In the early years of the 21st century, the first to change the law from 21 to 18 were some island countries, then the giant China in 2012, followed by Canada in 2015, the US in 2019, and Germany in 2021.
What we do see is the tendency for society to be geared toward the young, because they will rule the future.
But what does the Bible say? “And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them” (Isaiah 3:4).
Arno Froese is the executive director of Midnight Call Ministries and editor-in-chief of the acclaimed prophetic magazines Midnight Call and News From Israel. He has authored a number of well-received books, and has sponsored many prophecy conferences in the U.S., Canada, and Israel. His extensive travels have contributed to his keen insight into Bible prophecy, as he sees it from an international perspective.
