Four candidates for the Provincial Council have TU/e links
These students want a say in deciding the future of North Brabant
Read more- Student
- 01/02/2023
Four candidates for the Provincial Council have TU/e links
Doctoral candidate Laura van Hazendonk (28) and students Ralph van Ierland (27), Emma van Beek (23) and Floortje Bos (21) are standing for election to the Provincial Council of North Brabant. By the end of Wednesday, March 15th they'll know whether they're free to devote themselves full time to a career in tech, or will be spending the lion's share of their time over the next four years in meetings and making working visits for the political party of their choice. “It's so exciting!” Why do they want to go into politics?
Of all the government's administrative bodies, the provincial councils are probably the most remote from the electorate, that's the opinion shared by these four people with TU/e links who are standing for election. Evidence of local council politics is all around us and the work of the Lower House has national media exposure. Nonetheless, the provincial councils are at least as important, especially in North Brabant.
This is because it's here that decisions are made about how the countryside is used. “How we use our limited rural space, for homes, roads, nature or pig farms, is decided by the council. The council's portfolio includes public transport. Will North Brabant continue to be accessible to its residents who don't have cars?” says Laura van Hazendonk (no. 3 on the GroenLinks ballot). A “challenging theme” is how Ralph van Ierland (no. 6 for D66) describes the continued shaping and facilitation of the energy transition. “Where are business parks to be built? And how can we safeguard our clean water supply?” asks Emma van Beek (GroenLinks, candidate no. 7), giving concrete examples of the council's remit.
Floortje Bos (no. 9 for Volt) thinks that North Brabant is one place the provincial council elections are likely to capture the public imagination. “This region's residents have a stronger sense of themselves as Brabanders than, say, being a South-Hollander is part of the identity of residents of The Hague.” All four candidates have a strong sense of connection with the province and, with the exception of Laura, were born here. Read on to find out why they are prepared to devote more than twenty hours a week to the interests of their voters.
Opportunities
Whether winning a seat feels like a high-stakes opportunity depends on which candidate you ask. North Brabant has 55 provincial council members drawn from 13 parties, one of which, the Forum for Democracy, has collapsed since the last elections four years ago. This year Volt is taking part for the first time. GroenLinks and D66 are currently represented by five members each. With ten members, the VVD is the largest party in the council.
Anyone interested in voting must live in a municipality in North Brabant and hold a Dutch passport. Provincial council members also serve the national interest: they'll vote in a new Upper House when they elect its members on May 30th, 2023. Upper House members have final approval of all new national laws.
Internationals can't vote but can discuss
Laura van Hazendonk has a message for internationals who won't be receiving a polling card. “Although it's a shame you can't vote in the provincial council election, the issues the council handles do affect you. Think of the quality of public transport or the supply of affordable homes being built in the region, or the speed with which the energy transition is being pushed through. So I would advise you to discuss these issues with your friends who do have a vote.”
Emma van Beek: “I'm throwing myself in at the deep end”
While studying for her degree in Data Science, master's student Emma van Beek lived in Eindhoven and for two years in Tilburg. She's currently living in a rented apartment in Woensel. She was born in Valkenswaard, and both her grandfathers used to be very politically active in the surrounding area. One was an alderman, the other a mayor. Their son and daughter, Emma's parents, didn't pass on the family's political heritage to their growing child. Emma discovered her sense of social engagement for herself, through experiences on social media.
“As an adolescent I spent a lot of time on Twitter. I was in touch with Mexicans and people from Britain. They all had their stories to tell, about Donald Trump or the shenanigans surrounding Brexit. That's where I learned to develop and share my own views, which I should say moved increasingly toward the left. This was new behavior for me, it was pretty surprising. At high school I used to be terrified of giving a class talk, and even now in uni lectures I don't find it easy to put my hand up. Standing for the provincial council is something I've made a deliberate choice to do, because I know that I have to present my own views. I'm throwing myself in at the deep end because it'll be good for my personal growth.”
Adrenaline
In 2021 Emma spend seven months doing an internship at GroenLinks's national office. “No, it didn't earn me any credits, ha ha!” She worked there as a data analyst and in that capacity had the chance to study the 2022 municipal elections. “On results night, March 16th, I was collecting data from all the social media channels and passing it to the national campaign leader. The results exceeded our expectations. In a lot of places, including Helmond, Eindhoven and Tilburg, GroenLinks became the biggest party. It was a superb moment after the downer of the Lower House elections in March 2021, when the number of GroenLinks parliamentarians plummeted from 14 to 8.” Now she knows, “Seventh on the provincial council ballot doesn't necessarily mean there's no hope.”
During the campaign and as a potential provincial council member, this Data Science student is keen to work on behalf of young people, including foreign students - who aren't eligible to vote. “I think it's important that they know they're also being heard.” She particularly wants them to find politically active people of their own age and start talking to them about the problems they're encountering.
Floortje Bos: “Young voters are my special focus”
The youngest candidate on the Volt ballot is Floortje Bos, born and raised in Breda, and studying Data Science in Eindhoven and Tilburg. Like the other three candidates with TU/e links interviewed for this article, the twenty-one year old grew up in a white bubble, a fact she's well aware of. “But my primary school was in a deprived area. Now I'm busy doing all I can to find out what issues are important to people outside my own circle. My main focus, however, is young voters, whether they're working or studying. I don't feel I'm represented in politics and that's because I'm a young person. This is what prompted me to take matters into my own hands and apply to Volt to become their candidate. I feel happy in a Euro-friendly party and I want to help with social issues.”
Floortje lives with seven others in a student house. During the day she spends a lot of time at TU/e, her evenings are devoted to politics. “I'll be campaigning once my exams are over. That means going out on to the streets and talking with people. That's when you hear what's bothering them and what they feel positive about.”
Student debt
She didn't have a student grant, instead she has a growing debt. Like Ralph and Emma, she isn't particularly worried by this. “I think I'll have the kind of career that will mean I can pay off the debt. I can imagine it might be harder for humanities students. If I get on to the provincial council, I won't be able to solve this on my own, but my political network will expand and I'll be able to talk with people who have more influence than I do. I'd like to see the grantless generation get compensation, although I realize it's going to take a lot of money to do that.”
She herself has only twice been eligible to vote using the red pencil: once nationally and once in local elections. Volt believes the terms 'left' and 'right' are outdated. “We decide theme by theme where we stand. How the parties propose handling the climate crisis is going to shape how people vote in the provincial council elections. Volt wants to protect woodlands and other nature, but isn't set on buying out all the farmers right away. We think there's enough technical knowledge out there for agriculture to innovate.”
Laura van Hazendonk: “I want to do something about the climate crisis”
Laura grew up in a village in the province of South Holland. No one was politically active in her well-educated family, but there was plenty of talk about what was in the newspapers. Only after finishing her bachelor's in Maastricht did she move to North Brabant and become an active member of GroenLinks. She gained her master's of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry in Eindhoven, drawn here by her enthusiastic younger sister who was enjoying studying at TU/e, and now she's a doctoral candidate at the Department of Chemical Engineering & Chemistry.
Laura feels it's important that she stays in touch with North Brabant residents who are outside her bubble by going door to door, a typical GroenLinks activity. “We talk with people even when we're not campaigning. We actively ask them what they think should be done differently or, conversely, what makes them feel proud. Only this month we were at the market in Woensel.”
Laura thinks that provincial politics is where she can do her bit to help, rather than the municipal council. “The climate crisis is an issue close to my heart and the province makes decisions about nature, the energy transition, building new homes, and other green and technical issues. My technical background has added value in this context. The climate crisis feels like a huge threat and I want to do something about it.”
Healthy perspective
More often than in the past, we hear of threats made against politicians and sadly Laura has already experienced hate mail at first hand. “I found it disturbing and I didn't read it all. Aiming to start a constructive debate, I voiced an opinion about misogynistic paintings. That was taken up by the rightwing media and taken out of context. Now the experience of being dragged through the mud online as a women is one I've experienced for myself. I won't be silenced and I don't believe that the online debate is representative of society at large. I remind myself that nine of out ten conversations I'm involved in as a member of GroenLinks are constructive.”
Like Emma, Ralph and Floortje, she finds it difficult to predict what she'll be doing in twenty years' time. But after giving it some thought, she knows that she would like to become a member of the Upper House. “Preferably alongside a job that combines (chemistry) research and policy. Because as a member of the Upper House, you're occupied with politics and policy rather than the issues of the day.”
But today she's third on her party's list of candidates, and if she's elected, she'll be completing her doctorate part time (60 percent). She wonders whether the twenty hours expected of a provincial council member will be enough. “It'll mean working hard, but I can do that.”
Ralph van Ierland: “I want to use my technical knowledge to help the energy crisis”
Master's student of Industrial & Applied Mathematics Ralph grew up in Geldrop, within cycling distance of TU/e. “You might say I had a sheltered childhood in that village, but I'm doing my best to recognize the pitfalls of living in a bubble. I'm actively involved in Jong 040 (a youth council of sorts, but for 17 to 27 year olds, ed.) and we're a mixed bunch. We share our experiences and learn a lot from each other. Last week, for example, we made recommendations on poverty among young people to the local council, and now we're working on the theme of mental health. Over the years, I've had lots of summer jobs in all kinds of companies. One year I worked for the technical services department of a care home. I've learned all kinds of things from meeting all kinds of people in these jobs.
Approachable
In the nine years that he's been eligible to vote, he's always voted D66. Now he's ranked as his party's sixth candidate in the provincial council election. “Yes, I know it seems like provincial politics are far removed from people's lives, but I hope that people know they can always contact me. If I can, I'll answer an email that same day, and I'm also happy to be called up.”
He knows that as a politician he won't be working on the level of individual problems. “But if you see the same problem crop up time and again, you can analyze the situation, find out where things are going wrong, and insist that things are done differently.” As well as completing his degree, which he's working on full time until April, he spends at least half of his free time working for D66. “Hockey has a winter break. and that's a real help.”
Political experience
Anyone who goes into politics puts themselves under a magnifying glass and must always be able to account for their actions. Ralph used to be a University Council member, so he knows what he's talking about. "In the University Council, I voted on behalf of Groep-één against an extra Dutch language requirement being introduced on the bachelor's program at Mechanical Engineering. That was a difficult choice. You always have to be able to explain your - well-considered - choices. And that means that you first have to bounce ideas around with other people, voice your arguments and hear counter-arguments, and think about the downsides."
In March 2020, the University Council couldn't afford to have long discussion sessions. Ralph had been a council member for three months when corona upped the pace of developments at TU/e. “We had to make quick decisions about online education and exams. Here's the lesson this taught me: if everyone goes the extra mile, you can work fast without compromising quality.”
If Ralph is elected to the Provincial Council of North Brabant on March 15th , he'll look for a part-time job. “I know that Fridays will be taken up with meetings, and of course there'll be lots of other gatherings and working visits in the evenings and at weekends. For North Brabant, I want to concentrate mainly on the economy as a theme. This encompasses talent development, internationalization and innovation. After that, my chief priorities will be the energy transition and mobility.”
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