Luke Hoss (23) and Zada Salihovic (24) are the youngest members of Germany’s new parliament, both representing the socialist Left Party (Die Linke).
Hoss, who was born in the Stuttgart suburb of Bad Cannstatt in the south-west of Germany in 2001, stood for election in the Bavarian town of Passau on the Austrian border. Despite only accruing 2.9% of first votes, he is set to enter parliament as the fourth candidate on his party’s Bavaria list thanks to the surprisingly high number of second votes cast for the Left Party.
During the campaign, law student Hoss promised to donate most of his salary as a member of parliament (around €11,000 or $11,500 per month) either to his own party or to social initiatives helping people in financial difficulty, while keeping only around €2,500 for himself.
Describing growing up with his brother, single mother, “second-hand football boots and a fear of new bills landing in the letter box,” he said: “I know that that’s the reality for a lot of people in Germany.”
Asked by WEB.de if he’s not too young for politics, he said: “No, why? Parliament should represent all of society, and that includes young people.”
Similarly, his colleague Zada Salihovic, the daughter of a Serbian father and German mother, will enter parliament as the fourth candidate on the Left Party’s list in Saxony.
The eastern state is otherwise an AfD stronghold and home to founding member and honorary chairman Alexander Gauland who, aged 84, will be the oldest member of parliament, representing his home city of Chemnitz (32.2%).
