– The best age for a politician is between 30 and 70, says right-wing politician Simen Sandelien (51). When you are over 30, you have to a greater extent gained the opportunity and the abilities to see society as a whole, he believes. Sandelien is fed up with all the issues that problematize the fact that there are few young people elected. – That there is an underweight of young politicians has natural explanations. We should shrug our shoulders instead of problematizing this, says Sandelien, who himself is standing for election in his home municipality of Asker. Simen Sandelien believes the ideal age for a local politician is between 30 and 70. Photo: ISMAIL BURAK AKKAN / news He emphasizes that he is not against young politicians and that they should be involved. – But I don’t think it is a democratic problem that they are underrepresented, says the 51-year-old. My young people have enough with other things – Total nonsense, replies Emma Berge Ness (24) in the Center Party. The young politicians are important for shaping the best possible and effective policy. For example, it applies to climate, drugs and school, says SP politician Emma Berge Ness (24). Photo: Andreas Nygjerd/Senterpartiet Ho is running for the county council elections in Vestland in the autumn. Sunnfjordingen points out that a people’s government will not be representative if everyone is the same age. Sandelien believes that many young people have enough with studies, work and family life. – Being involved in politics takes time, and the glow may come later when the other pieces in life have fallen into place, says the 51-year-old. – But doesn’t a politician in his 20s know more about what is important in matters of, for example, secondary schools? – Basically not. I also remember what secondary school was like, for better or for worse. I also have three daughters, and I don’t think one needs more closeness than that to understand what the need is, says Sandelien. Simen Sandelien is a local politician in Asker. Photo: ISMAIL BURAK AKKAN / news Berge Ness does not buy the arguments of the right-wing politicians. – One could just as easily turn Sandelien’s argument on its head and say that young people are perfectly able to understand how older people feel. In this sense, all older people become redundant, says the 24-year-old. Fear of many old men Right-wing politician Elias Eide (21) from Sunnfjord is also not in agreement with his party colleague Sandelien. – But I think many others think the same as him. What we young people hear the most is that we have too little experience. For example, several critical voices in a reader post in Hordaland believe that several of the local mayoral candidates are too young. Eide believes that aging in politics is becoming a major democratic problem. Second-time voters are those who use their right to vote the least. The fact that there are few politicians in the same age group as themselves, believes Høgre politician Elias Eide, means that even more people stop voting. Photo: Jorgen Hveding At the last three municipal elections, around 10 per cent of the people elected were aged 18–30. At the same time, this group made up about 18 percent of the population. – We get better debate and politics when there are more voices involved. It is us young people who have to live with the decisions that are made, and then the only thing missing would be that we are not involved in deciding, says the 21-year-old. He himself is running for Høgre in the county council election in Vestland. In total, there were 959 politicians from 23 different parties who wanted to stand in the county council election. Of all these, 108 of them are under 30 years of age. This is what Vestland County Council will look like for a few more months. They have the power in many matters that concern young people, but there are not many young politicians who take part in deciding these matters. Photo: Vestland county municipality That the young are underrepresented here is a great shame, points out Eide. Many of the cases that are decided in the county council concern precisely the young. For example, the public transport offer and what the secondary schools should look like. Young people use childcare and school more Young people are “clearly underrepresented” in politics, says Professor Yngve Flo at the University of Bergen. He says it is important that society works to get more young people in. But this requires that both the party and the voters are aware of the challenge, says Flo. Jana Belschner is a postdoctoral fellow in comparative politics at the same university. She shares Flo’s uneasiness: – Those in power make decisions. Research shows that young politicians make different decisions than others. They use more money for childcare and education. It is important that young people have a voice in politics so that issues that are important to them are also discussed. That’s what Jana Belschner at the University of Bergen says. Photo: Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI) – And then there is the symbolic power. If you are a young politician and you don’t see any other young people who are involved in politics, you may withdraw. But fortunately there are some bright spots. – We have more young people in politics now than before. Furthermore, the situation is better in Norway than in many other countries, says Belschner. – The young must also take responsibility Pauline Tomren (23) from MDG is the youngest member of the county council in Vestland. She also believes that there are too few young people in politics and that it is a challenge for democracy. Pauline Tomren in MDG believes that it is a matter of course that the young politicians are involved in politics. Photo: Magnus Midtun / news She points out that those under the age of 18 have no representatives. – Then you must in any case bring in young politicians who know the services that these groups use. She works in particular with matters concerning children and young people. – I think it’s easier for me to understand how a 16-year-old feels than for someone who is 40, says Tomren. On 11 September there are municipal and county council elections. Here, it is the second-time voters who are the worst at using their right to vote. Photo: Scanpix She herself is not running for election in the autumn for several reasons. One of them is that it is tough to be young in politics. At the same time, she believes it is difficult to be new to politics – regardless of age. Tomren hopes that more young people will register and enter politics. – The young people also have a responsibility here, says the politician.
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Right-wing politicians think politicians should be over 30 – news Vestland
