From the United States to Spain and from Germany to France, young people are turning to the radical left!

by Yorgos Mitralias

From now on, this is no longer a mere supposition or a working hypothesis. From now on, All is no more Quiet on the Western Front ! From New York to Berlin, and from Madrid to Paris, things are changing. And they’re changing rather dramatically. Almost one after another, the radical left is installing its own people as mayors in global cities like New York and Berlin. And even more importantly, majorities of young people in countries like the United States, Spain, Germany, and France are becoming more radical and are directing their often active support toward these very same radical left-wing movements! One would have to be jaded, insensitive, or simply blind not to notice and take into account such a glaringly obvious development…

First in Spain, where demonstrations, the occupation of public squares, and other exemplary actions by young activists from the Tenants’ Union (Sindicato de Inquilinas y Inquilinos) have restored the initiative to those from below, bringing one of the most pressing social issues—the right to housing—back to the forefront! Spreading and popularizing the call of that admirable 87-year-old woman, Maricarmen Abascal (“My home has been my whole life, and now I have to leave it behind, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop fighting. I wasn’t able to defend my home, but I fought so that others would learn to fight for theirs. What I want is for this problem of vulture funds to be eliminated…Fight back—don’t stay at home”), these thousands of young activists achieved an extraordinary feat in just a few days: first, they brought the xenophobic and racist offensive by the right and the far right to a screeching halt in the wake of the “invasion” of Ceuta by Moroccan migrants—many of whom, according to Amnesty International, are brutally tortured by Spanish police. And second, they forced the left-wing coalition (PSOE+Sumar) to do what it had failed to do in the eight years it has been in power: pass legislation to ban evictions by vulture funds and freeze rents.

Of course, it is no coincidence that the Spanish tenants’ union is demanding “a rent freeze, as has been done in New York (‘como se ha hecho en Nueva York’).” Or the expropriation of housing owned by vulture funds, following the example of what Elif Eralp—the winner of the Berlin elections—promises to do; she has, in fact, publicly admitted that she has learnt a great deal from Zohran Mamdani, the young mayor of New York and leader of the new radical left that is shaking up the political landscape of the United States. Clearly, some are building on the successes and experiences of others, and ties are already forming between these movements and organizations of the radical left. In fact, this is precisely what Alicia del Rio, spokesperson for the Spanish Tenants’ Union, makes clear when she proclaims that the movement must “spread to other territories through regional or neighborhood delegations, as well as national and international ones,” before concluding with a call for a general strike!

Even a cursory glance at the demands and platforms of this rising new left is enough to see that their success owes a great deal to their radicalism. This is how Elif Eralp and her party, Die Linke, managed to more than double their 2023 vote share (achieved, incidentally, before the—unfortunate—split caused by the rightist Sarah Wagenknecht) thanks to their flagship promise to expropriate large real estate conglomerates and other vulture funds, and to transfer the nearly 300,000 housing units they own to the public sector. But that’s not all. It is the radical nature of their platforms—as well as their practices—that attracts, inspires, and mobilizes the impressive and unprecedented crowds of young people, thanks to whom Mamdani, Eralp, and even Spain’s Sindicato de Inquilinas are achieving electoral and other successes that were completely unthinkable just two years ago!

Indeed, the second major and highly promising characteristic of all these left-wing movements and organizations, both in the United States and in Europe, is their ability to inspire and mobilize young people. This is an absolute “novelty” that has been anticipated for at least 40 years, and it bodes well for the future, as we can already see just how great the impact and anti-capitalist potential of this radicalized youth are on both sides of the Atlantic. In Berlin, for example, Die Linke triumphed among young voters, securing 43% of the vote among 18- to 24-year-olds and 49% among 25- to 34-year-olds! And as much as 55% among young women under 30!

These percentages, already extraordinary, are nevertheless lower than those achieved by Mamdani in New York: 75% among 18- to 29-year-olds, and as high as… 82% among young women! Was this a personal success for Zohran Mamdani? Undoubtedly yes, but not solely so. According to a recent Gallup poll, 57% of Americans aged 18 to 34 have a favorable view of socialism, compared to 43% for capitalism. And according to a CNBC poll, 46% of Americans aged 18 to 34 have a favorable or very favorable view of Mamdani’s Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). And for those who might think that the popularity of Mamdani and the DSA, or Eralp and Die Linke, among young people is due to the “uniqueness of their cases,” there is, to refute this notion, the by no means insignificant case of France, where, according to *Le Monde*, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the rather radical left-wing party *La France Insoumise*, “is polling between 40% and 45% of voting intentions among 18- to 24-year-olds ahead of the 2027 presidential election.”

So it is not at all surprising that it is precisely this French youth who are currently taking the lead in the increasingly massive and determined popular protests against President Macron’s anti-social policies of draconian austerity. Nor is it surprising that, clearly panicked, the ruling French right—backed by Marine Le Pen’s far right—is launching fierce attacks against both Mélenchon and his party as well as the rapidly expanding high school and college student movement, increasingly fearful that the spark of youth revolt will set ablaze a French society already on the verge of exploding.

Who said that young people in these dark and nightmarish times would be doomed to resignation and passivity?