“Politics takes the concerns of young people seriously” - only 20 percent of the 16 to 30-year-olds surveyed in a 2023 survey by Infratest dimap agreed with this statement. The average age in the Bundestag at the end of 2021 was 47.3 years. The criticism of many young politically active people: German politics is too old and does not adequately represent young people. Other voices, however, argue that young people have the same opportunities to get involved politically. They have to become active themselves so that their opinions are heard. So who has the political power in Germany? Are young people really being forgotten in German politics? And what does that mean for our democracy? We discussed this with our guests in this episode of “13 Questions”. Our participants: Hibba Kauser, local politician; Rifka Lambrecht, campaigner for FiscalFuture; Wolfgang Gründiger, publicist; Peter Altmaier, CDU politician; Tobias Becker, deputy district chairman of the JU; Claudia Mahler, expert on the rights of older people at the UN Human Rights Council; Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:14 Are the elderly in politics blocking the future for the young? 01:31 Is your generation sufficiently taken into account in politics? 05:31 What contact have you had as a politician with young people? 06:58 Does the responsibility for the current situation also lie with the younger generation? 09:38 Are the older people actually being neglected? 03:04 What does your everyday political life look like? 16:36 What resistance do you have to contend with? 21:00 Has the involvement of young people increased in recent decades? 26:07 Are many young people making it too easy? 28:42 Why is it dangerous when young people are no longer adequately represented in the parties? 32:02 Can we agree that we must defend democracy together and that it is therefore particularly important that democratic parties win over young people? 33:42 Can we agree that there should be a committee for all young members of the Bundestag under 30, where they can exchange ideas with each other and with citizens? 36:33 Can we agree on the right to vote from the age of 16, a youth quota of 50 percent for the first 10 list places and a reform of the debt brake? You can find more content on this and similar topics here: Young & Mayor: Head of a city at 24 funk follow me.reports https://kurz.zdf.de/Iykl/ SPD and THE LEFT: How radical are the young, left-wing politicians? funk Y-Kollektiv https://kurz.zdf.de/7E433p/ CDU/CSU election manifesto: This is what they want for people under 30 funk Die Da oben! https://kurz.zdf.de/3XNT/ Party check: THIS is how Jusos, JuLis and Co. tick funk Die Da oben! https://kurz.zdf.de/rDTp/ Do you feel represented in the Bundestag? funk zweifelsfrei https://kurz.zdf.de/ybW/ Young and committed - what attracts young people to politics? ARD Respekt https://kurz.zdf.de/Rg9/ Host: Salwa Houmsi ZDF editorial team: Stefanie Heidbrink ZDF format development: Vanessa Olivier, Leonie Steinfeld ZDF social media editorial team: Laura Díaz, Muriel Spiegel, Schahrzad Zamankhan, Lara-Celine Saalmann ZDF online editorial team: Anna Ernst ZDF production management: Christiane Alsfasser 13 Questions is a format from ZDFkultur in collaboration with Hyperbole. Director / Author: Katharina Lauck, Niels Folta Editor: Katharina Schaar, Althea Pappas, Caroline Weigele, Henrike Rau Social Media Editor: Clemens Egger, Malik Jalloh Camera: Michel Gumnior, Fabian Uhlmann, Taner Asma, Sebastian Linder Lighting: Micha Plundrich, Ulrich Kalliske Sound & sound mixing: Wladimir Gelwich Set Design: Justus Saretz Production Manager: Denise Ghard Editor: Suraj Chandran Graphics: Petra Sohnius Make Up: Juliane Polak Producer: Bastian Asdonk Creative Producer: Katharina Lauck, Niels Folta Production Manager: Laura Obereisenbuchner Production Assistant: Nina Schögel, Lina Willeckes