This article starts from a simple paradox: although age has become one of the most powerful predictors of electoral behaviour, its impact on political leadership remains ambiguous and mediated by institutional incentives, political cultures, and generational expectations. Age has become an increasingly salient variable in political science, particularly in the study of voting behaviour—a trend underscored by events such as Brexit. In several countries, age now rivals or even surpasses social class, education, and geography as a predictor of electoral preferences. In France and Italy, for example, older voters constitute the core electoral base of far-right parties such as the National Rally and the Northern League.

Across some Western democracies, generational divides have overtaken class cleavages in shaping electoral outcomes. Yet this does not imply a simple alignment between voters’ and leaders’ age. Younger voters do not invariably support younger leaders, nor do older citizens always favour their peers. In certain contexts, younger voters back older politicians who articulate policies resonating with youth values—particularly on progressive social issues. This dynamic, described as the “grandfather effect,” suggests that ideological proximity and political empathy can outweigh generational distance.

In general, young voters of 18-25 wield rather limited electoral influence in aging Western societies. Their number is smaller and their voting turnout is weaker. Older citizens are not only numerically dominant but also participate more consistently in elections. Consequently, political agendas and policy designs often cater disproportionately to the old generation’s preferences.

David Runciman has argued that when older voters form a decisive majority, long-term challenges—such as climate change or fiscal sustainability—risk being systematically deprioritized. In a provocative intervention, he proposed extending voting rights to children over the age of ten, noting that objections to this idea echo historical arguments once deployed against women’s suffrage. Decades earlier, by contrast, Friedrich Hayek offered an almost diametrically opposed vision. In Law, Legislation and Liberty,........

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