European Campaign Trail: Trying to Mobilize Voters in Berlin

In the past weeks, Germany’s parties have hit the streets to mobilize citizens for the European Parliament elections. Meanwhile, countless initiatives by civil society organizations try to increase awareness among the electorate and to inform them of the different party programs, encouraging them to make an informed choice.

I joined two candidates on the campaign trail in Berlin—Hannah Neumann of Alliance 90/The Greens and Hildegard Bentele of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany—as they took part in different formats of political campaigning, from street campaigns and party events to workshops of civil society and school visits.

The main center-left and center-right political groups in the European Parliament are expected to lose their joint majority, while Euroskeptic parties are likely to do better than ever. There are fundamental questions to be answered, such as the EU’s direction in social policy and climate protection, as well as the future of security and defense. What I experienced on the campaign trail, however, is that the biggest fear of candidates is that voters will not turn out when the polls open.

“During campaign activities, it is less about discussing policies but rather making people aware of the election,” explains Hannah Neumann while handing out flyers in front of the Freie Universität Berlin. As students and faculty members enter or leave the cafeteria, they note the Greens bicycle with Neumann’s poster on it as well as the campaign team handing out materials. Most people pass by, some accept the newspaper and flyer, a few linger for a quick chat.

When rain interrupts the activity, Neumann updates her Instagram account, letting her followers know what she is up to and where the next stop will be: a workshop of civil society representatives working on EU matters. Social media has become a central channel of communication between candidate and electorate. Neumann knows that building up an active presence on platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, is key to building a relationship of trust with voters.

A few days later, I joined Hildegard Bentele at the Europe Dialogue, an event organized by the Christian Democrats at the EUREF-Campus in the Schöneberg district of Berlin, in which anyone was able to ask her questions. Inside the huge dome of a repurposed gasometer, a few hundred guests gathered to listen to Bentele’s ideas regarding the EU. The underlying theme is the broader, more structural direction of the EU. How can young voters be familiarized with the EU? What is the candidate’s opinion on establishing an EU constitution? Should the EU strive to become a federal state? Bentele notes that, while most citizens generally feel content with the EU, it is still hard to mobilize them for these elections. The difficulty lies in generating a sense of urgency for voting.

Both candidates are aware that these elections are mostly dependent on overall party affiliations rather than specific policy proposals. The European party families only play a minor role in campaigning, leaving the main responsibility to the national parties. In Germany, this means that the conversations in the run-up to the elections offer a point of reflection on the country’s approach to Europeanizing specific policies.

According to Eurobarometer, EU citizens are most concerned about the economy, youth unemployment, and immigration. In Germany, the Fridays for Future protests have raised climate change to the top of voters’ priorities. This became especially apparent during a school visit by Hannah Neumann and five other representatives from the biggest German parties. After introducing themselves, each candidate joined a table of 8–10 students and answered their questions for around 10 minutes before moving on to the next table. The main issue was climate change. Students asked about a carbon tax, a plastics ban, the future of mobility, and more. They were eager to understand the complexity of regulations, asked critical questions, and expressed their satisfaction or discontent with policy ideas. At the end of the event, all candidates had a chance to say a last word. Regardless of party affiliation, their message was clear: “The answer to democratic discontent should be more democracy, so please become active and vote.”

Declining voter turnout is a global trend in democracies since the 1990s, and especially affects European Parliament elections, which have always had lower participation than national ones. A study by the German Institute for Economic Research found that non-voters in the last national elections had far lower income than those who did cast a ballot, are noticeably younger, and constitute a disproportionate share of the workforce. According to the Eurobarometer 2019, citizens who are considering not to take part in the European Parliament elections usually say that they cannot change anything through their vote and feel detached from faraway Brussels.

Parties, therefore, need to show innovation if they want to mobilize citizens to assume their role as shapers of the direction the EU will take after the election. My experience on the campaign trail in Berlin showed two candidates doing their best to bring the EU to their constituents—but also faced with the reality that there is a limit to their personal capacity to reach out to those who feel left behind. Whether their efforts pay off will be shown on May 26 when Germany opens its polls.