Dear all,
Puh – I don’t know about you, but while I love my job, I can’t wait for the holidays to start! Cookies, winter walks, and digital detox – what more can you ask for 🙂 I will use the break to recharge for what’s to come: finishing some laws while ramping up my campaign for June. Let’s goooo!
But before going offline, I will use your attention to quickly do 3 things: give thanks, reflect, and plan with you.
Thank you, Johannes
First, a biiiig thank you to my trusted advisor and friend, Johannes (second row, left), who after 4½ years in my team decided to move back to Berlin and start a new job. Many of the things I achieved over the past years were due to his incredibly smart views and hard work. Good luck with what’s to come! I am sure you are equally going to rock it there – but we will for sure miss you!
Of course, I am also very grateful to the rest of the team, Cova, Rina, Kamilla and Jo for another amazing year! You are incredible and it’s an honor to work with you. And I am especially happy we were able to convince Cova to join our team as a full-time comms mastermind!
And thanks also to you, dear readers, for following my work, but also for the many random encounters and friendly words over the past year. Your trust gives us energy!
2023 wrapped: laws, laws, laws
What did we do this year? Well, we finished the Data Act, enshrining the right to the non-personal data your device produces. We shaped the Ukraine support programme to ensure Rada involvement and funds for small and medium sized businesses – sadly that got torpedoed last week by Orban, Putin’s buddy in the EU… We managed to get the Talent Pool proposed to match international talent with EU jobs and prepared our law on permanent residency. We were part of the Asylum laws that got adopted this week (even if we wish we hadn’t been there…). And we ramped up our communication on social media to a whole new level, thanks to Cova.
In addition to the Parliamentary work, I visited many countries, to see how the Volt chapters are doing there and convince national ministries of my views in regards to my law.
Extremism is contagious
At the same time, the world didn’t stop, it chose to become a really complicated little planet.
The violence and killing in the Middle East didn’t make people more reflective about the value of unity and peace, it incited more outrage and hatred within our own communities – which seems counterintuitive, but is nevertheless the truth. Low point 1: when someone texted me and asked me whether I was “team appeasement”. Reminder: this is not a game… Low point 2: when someone texted my partner and attacked her for my views 🤷🏼♂️
At the same time, the EU let’s itself more and more be undermined by far-right populists. Over the last 5 days we saw Orban vetoing cash for Ukraine, as I mentioned above, and the EU adopt an asylum system reform that will lead to more people caged in prison camps at our borders, while undermining their right to seek asylum in Europe even further.
Action matters
However, I have also seen again how much of a difference it can make who is elected and who sits at the table when decisions are made.
Let’s take the asylum laws: one of the negotiators gave up everything he could preemptively, just to please his government at home. Another fought hard for her and parliament’s priorities, even though she had her own interior minister from her party on the phone screaming at her to give in. Both were from the same party, btw.
This – and positive feedback for my work – gives me the energy to push everyday for improvements in my realm of influence. When I am old, I want to have tried to make it better and to stop the rise of the populism that we see across the world.
If the world becomes darker, we should become more adamant in fighting full of hope for the world we want to live in. If you see it like that and don’t know where to help, let me know!
Anyways. I got carried away. You see, it’s time for a Christmas break 🙂 let’s get back to the third point:
Campaign trail ahead!
Most people notice that elections are around the corner when posters are put up. For me, and for the campaign team, the work starts much before that. I worked a lot on the programme over the last weeks, until it got adopted. At the moment I am meeting a range of people for coffees and fundraising, and am building a team of volunteers to support us candidates in our work.
Over the coming months I will need to link my work further with the debate in Germany, which isn’t always easy for me because that debate can be rather boring. I mean, I am happy we don’t have Trump in power, but if I hear ‘Schuldenbremse’ (debt break), I don’t always feel like adding my voice to the already existing cacophony…
I am much more excited about action-driven campaigning. How can we, as Volt, show what we stand for with exciting and fun symbolic actions in the real world? If you have ideas, feel free to reach out!!
Anyways, the next months will be intense with traveling and convincing people of Volt’s and my ideals. I am super excited for that, because I know our pro-European hopeful and pragmatic voice has an important role to play in what’s to come.
Well, that’s it – I hope you enjoyed reading this little wrap-up and outlook, and hope to see you soon. And I mean it: thanks for following my work & please, if you can afford the luxury, take some time to disconnect and recharge as well.
All the best & happy Christmas holidays to all of you!
Damian
