Young MPs: Start of work in the Bundestag authority

There is a form for everything, and setting up the work e-mail address takes time: Many young members of parliament start their adventure in the Bundestag – full of anticipation and a dose of respect.

“To run out of the main station the day after the election, to the Reichstag and to know: This will be my place of work for the next four years – that was something very special,” says Jakob Blankenburg. The 24-year-old, directly elected SPD MP from Bienenbüttel, a town near Lüneburg, belongs to the group of those under 30. At six percent, their share is manageable, but still bigger than ever. When Angela Merkel became Chancellor in 2005, it was just two percent.

“I think that’s very important,” says Blankenburg’s colleague Merle Spellerberg from the Greens. “But just as important is a generally colorful mix of the Bundestag. If we were all just 24-year-old students, that would be just as problematic.”

Spellerberg got her mandate through the Saxon state list of the Greens. The chances for young members of parliament to make themselves heard in parliament and perhaps to shape their own political style have never been better than in the new Bundestag. The Greens are particularly involved in foreign policy and stand for a “feminist foreign policy,” as she specifies. It comes into play where women’s rights or the rights of vulnerable groups are suppressed: “I would also like to contribute my topics, my specialist knowledge and my perspectives. When we talk about topics in certain groups, I first listen as a newcomer. But when I notice that points are missing, then I’ll get in touch. Because that’s what I was chosen for. “

They won’t know which committees the two will end up in until after the coalition negotiations. They tend to formulate their wishes cautiously, as most newcomers would – and not just in politics.

Forms and clerks

Jakob Blankenburg has decided to “arrive first”. The state chairman of the Jusos in Lower Saxony already has a lot of political experience at the municipal level, he knows the inner workings of his party quite well through his work in the SPD youth organization – but the capital and the Bundestag are quite one because of their size new challenge:

“I see the next few weeks as a learning phase in which I want to understand politics. How does it work here? How are the processes? One should not underestimate that the Bundestag is also a large authority in which there is a form and for everything there is a responsible clerk. You fill out an incredible amount of forms, tick boxes or sign applications. “

E-mail address and apartment search

Getting a work e-mail address is a time-consuming project. Blankenburg is still waiting. For the Bundestag novices it is a matter of course, for practical reasons, to network across factions in order to master the smaller and larger challenges of the new job. In addition, they must set up and staff their own offices. You currently have a lot of job interviews, says Spellerberg, the list is long. And she’s also looking for her own apartment:

“I am currently using the Berlin clichés when looking for an apartment. Currently I am sublet with a friend whose sister is abroad for a year.”

Jakob Blankenburg also stayed with friends, but wants to take a little more time looking for an apartment, especially since he commutes a lot between Berlin and Lüneburg anyway.

Looking forward to the first speech

When the 20th German Bundestag meets today for its constituent session, the hectic first weeks after the election are far away for both of them: “A member of parliament prophesied that I would pinch myself often in the next few weeks and months and ask me if all of this is true, “says Blankenburg.

The parliamentary debates in particular arouse anticipation, which he would like to be tough on the matter, but not hurtful in tone. The newcomers could also shape a different style when it comes to dealing with members of parliament in the plenary. In any case, Blankenburg is not looking for calls to order:

“Of course, it is also an advantage if you come into this company a little less consumed. I want myself to be able to drink a beer and look each other in the eye after a heated debate.”

And the first speech in the Bundestag? “It is an incredible honor and a great privilege to be able to speak in the German Bundestag,” says the Green politician Spellerberg. “I do believe that I will be very nervous. But it would also be wrong to take a completely relaxed approach.” The SPD MP Blankenburg is also expecting a “very special moment”. When the time comes, he will prepare specially. “I’m actually looking forward to it.”