Upcoming votes in Europe - What drives the young and European-focused political party, Volt?
Volt garnered 2.5% of the votes in the recent European election and managed to secure two spots in the European Parliament. But who's the mastermind behind the party named after the unit for electrical potential?
In response to the UK's decision to leave the EU and the rising tide of right-wing populism in Europe, three young Europeans kick-started a pan-European movement: Volt was established on March 29, 2017. A year later, on March 3, 2018, it was formally registered as a party in Germany.
As per their own claims, Volt is now present in 31 countries and aims to practice politics at local, national, and European levels. The party achieved its first success in the 2019 European elections with a 0.7% share of votes in Germany, leading to one of the 96 seats. Damian Boeselager, a founding member, became the first Volt representative to join the European Parliament.
Proudly citing their achievements, the party boasts, "From a delegate, over 100 mandate holders were created across Europe." In Germany, since then, they've claimed several mandates at the local level, particularly in major cities. In these current European elections, Volt campaigned for transforming the EU into a federal state, abolishing the veto rights of EU member states, switching completely to renewable energy by 2035, and legalizing the rescue of migrants at sea. At its peak, the movement gained significant support - reaching 9% among young voters (aged 16-25) according to Forschungsgruppe Wahlen research institute's data.
