West Germany: The New Voters

• Share

A truism loudly trumpeted by West German politicians these days is that the nation's youth can no longer be blamed for the crimes or the mistaken beliefs of its elders. But what does youth believe in? Since 3,078,000 Germans born between 1940 and 1944 will be eligible to vote for the first time next fall in what seems likely to be a close election, both Ludwig Erhard's Christian Democrats and Willy Brandt's Social Democrats would love to know. Last week their strategists were poring over the 200-page digest of a report on German youth prepared by the Ministry of Family Affairs. Among the report's conclusions:

> Despite the upheavals of their early years, the younger generation remain firmly tied to the family. In the 15-25-year-old age group, 73% believe youths should live with their parents, even while another 20% favor guided democracy on the Gaullist model. Only a trifling 1% to 4% are still inclined towards dictatorship.

> Young Germans, by and large, are also convinced of the importance of some form of democratic government. A full 60% endorse the present system, while another 20% favor guided democracy on the Gaullist model. Only a trifling 1% to 4% incline to dictatorship.

> Two-thirds approve the idea of a West German army, and virtually all support participation in the Western alliance. An overwhelming majority (80%) consider reunification Germany's most urgent question today.

There was no clear advantage for either Erhard's C.D.U. or Brandt's S.P.D. in the latter statistics, since both are all for rearmament, NATO and a reunified Germany. But the politicians took note of the fact that two-thirds of today's youth are opposed to joining any party. And Socialist strategists were cheered by their findings that youthful voters favor the Social Democrats by a slender (4-5%) margin, partly because young intellectuals, such as Novelist Gunter Grass, have been campaigning for it (TIME, July 23), but mainly because the S.P.D. has been the underdog for years.