I do know that there are two votes. But in the last election reform the direct vote has drastically lost importance. It is no longer guaranteed that every person who won the direct vote will go to parliament. The distribution of seats will only be decided by the party votes. The only exception remains that parties with three direct candidate wins will be able to go to parliament without winning at least five percent of the party votes.
I don't know if that is completely true but I think in countries without the first pass the post system this is not even a problem. For example in Germany every voter has one vote and they are all added together in the end. The districts are only for managing the vote counting but have almost no influence on the end result.
Exactly. If I was asked to defend us or our European allies I probably would. Not that I would really have a choice in an all out war. But I would not want to deploy in the middle East or something.
Okay, so my comment was more a joke than a recommendation. But there is a truth to it. Berlin is generally known as an ugly and dirty city. In addition, Germany is one of the very few countries where the capital costs more money than it generates. But there are obviously still interesting and beautiful places, especially since Berlin has a rich history. And fun fact: even though the wall has been (mostly) gone for quite some years, the city is still pretty devided. For example when looking at the city form above at night, you can see the different street lights. And more importantly, the difference can also still be seen in elections, in Berlin and Germany as a whole.
I think there is some truth to that. There is definitely a difference in the way young and old people vote(d). When looking at the last election for the European Parliament you can see that young people voted way less for the established parties and way more for small parties source (German). But that is not necessary connected to propaganda. Old people just have their "default party" they vote for since 50 years and young people mostly want change. At I think this principle will never change.
In Germany you can also vote in most elections at 16. And you can also vote for the European Parliament with 16. I think that is good, since the people who are currently young will be most affected by many of the decisions taken now. It also recognizes that the young people are also important and encourages political participation from a young age. And nobody is forced to vote, so people who are disinterested in politics will just note vote.
