The Young and the Restless Left: Who Voted for Die Linke in the 2025 German Federal Election?

This article examines vote choice for Die Linke in the 2025 German federal election, an election in which the party staged a comeback after a period of decline in national, EP and regional elections. Drawing on post-election survey data from the German Longitudinal Election Study (GLES), we analyse both first vote and second vote choice to assess the importance of policy attitudes, ideological positioning and socio-demographic characteristics in explaining support for the party. While some initial accounts of the election emphasised Die Linke’s focus on economic and social justice issues, our findings show that policy attitudes, although significant, exert only modest effects on vote choice. Instead, ideological self-placement emerges as the strongest predictor of support, with individuals on the far left more likely to vote for Die Linke relative to competing parties. Moreover, this relationship is conditioned by age: younger left-leaning voters are more likely than older voters with similar ideological orientations to support the party. These results suggest that Die Linke’s rebound was driven less by issue ownership than by its appeal to a younger, ideologically left electorate. The findings contribute to research on radical left parties by highlighting the role of ideology and generational dynamics in electoral competition on the left side of the political spectrum.