Young Politicians Color the World Political Stage

The world was shocked by the presence of a number of young politicians on the global political stage. They were able to win public sympathy with fresh and progressive ideas. Mobilization of ideas through social media is the main weapon.

The following article was translated using both Microsoft Azure Open AI and Google Translation AI.

Globally, Indonesia still faces a significant challenge in terms of political regeneration. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit Democracy Index 2022, Indonesia ranks 101st out of 147 countries in terms of political regeneration, with an average age of members of parliament reaching 51.6 years.

On the other hand, in the past decade, the world has been surprised by the emergence of young figures in the political stage such as Alexandira Ocasio-Cortez in the United States, Sanna Marin in Finland, Jacinda Ardern in New Zealand, and Gabriel Boric in Chile.

Their efforts to enter the country's political stage are not easy. Take Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, for example. The US House of Representatives member, known by the initials AOC, does not come from the political or business elite. It is no wonder that many saw her victory in the 2018 US midterm elections as a miracle.

At that time, AOC's opponent was a seasoned politician from the Democratic Party, Joseph Crowley, who had served as a member of the US House of Representatives for two decades. Crowley's political position was considered very strong, both in Capitol Hill and in the Democratic Party, due to his political network support and his ability to raise funds from businesspeople and donors.

On a global scale, Indonesia still faces significant challenges in terms of political regeneration.

While AOC was born in the Bronx, one of the disadvantaged areas in New York. Her father is a native of the Bronx and her mother is an immigrant from Puerto Rico. In the midst of preparing for the election, AOC still has to work as a waitress and bartender.

Farther south, stories of the struggles of young politicians can also be found in Chile. In the 2021 presidential election, a young activist named Gabriel Boric was elected after defeating the much more senior politician Jose Antonio Kast. Kast is a figure who has been on the political stage for more than two decades and is close to Chile's elite circles.

Born into a farming family, Boric's chances of being elected president were seen as minimal. Moreover, Boric was not supported by investors and came from a coalition of medium and small parties. However, his role in leading massive demonstrations in 2019 contributed to the Chilean constitutional referendum.

Also read :Young People Face the Narrow Space for Politics

Narrative politics

Judging from the phenomena of the two figures, there is a common thread of success in the form of the ability to build strong political narratives. The strength of the narrative capital can be seen from the success of AOC in conquering New York.

The campaign is built with a focus on the issue of anxiety among the lower middle class in the city who face economic pressure as well as unequal access to education and health.

In addition, AOC also highlighted the US political ecosystem that is heavily influenced by oligarchy and lobbyist networks. For her, it is impossible for politicians to side with the people when their power is gained from the money of capitalist owners.

This position is consistently taken by AOC, as evidenced by more than 60 percent of AOC's campaign funding coming from public donations.

The strength of young politicians' narratives is also evident in Gabriel Boric's victory. In the Chilean presidential election of 2021, Boric and his coalition brought a progressive narrative to uncover the decay of the Chilean government since the 1980s era.

The grand narrative promoted by Boric encompasses various issues, ranging from recognition of indigenous peoples' rights, gender equality, to changes in the government system.

Other aspects outside of the success story of the two young politicians are the utilization of technology and social media for political mobilization. Although not a new thing, this medium has proven to bring significant social influence such as when used in the Arab Spring movement in the early 2010s.

The utilization of technological innovation in political competition has been carried out by AOC through the REACH application. This application is designed similar to social media equipped with various features for exchanging messages, networking with friends, and even conducting surveys.

In its campaign, REACH was used to digitally organize volunteers and constituents. The results were not disappointing, as 12 percent of AOC voters claimed to be interested in choosing the candidate after being contacted through REACH. This is despite the fact that the application was only used about three weeks before the election was held.

The strength of social media in the political movement of young people is also evident in the Thailand election held in May 2023. Led by Pita Limjaroenrat (42 years old), the Move Forward Party (Phak Kao Klai) was able to gain more than 36 percent of the vote.

This acquisition surpasses the Pheu Thai party, led by former Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra, and the National Power Party/Palang Pracharat party affiliated with the military.

According to data from social media measuring tool Zocial Eye on election day, the Moving Forward Party is said to have uploaded more than 245,000 contents on social media. The number is almost equivalent to ten times the amount of uploads related to the Pheu Thai Party, which amounted to around 25,000 contents.

Also read: Young People Need the Partisanship of the Political Elite

Elite commitment

Nevertheless, the potential of storytelling and technological prowess among the young generation will not be manifested into a voice without a large political space. In order for political regeneration to run smoothly, political elites must be willing to open up a space for young people who have potential despite being inexperienced.

One example of a country with a good culture of political regeneration is Finland. In the 2019 Parliamentary Election, the government coalition was formed by five parties, namely the SDP, the VV Party, the Center Party, the Green Party, and the SFP. Out of these five parties, four of them are led by politicians under the age of 35. Sanna Marin is the Chair of the SFP who was elected as the Prime Minister. At the time, Marin was still 33 years old.

Conversely, the absence of elite commitment to provide space can discourage young people. This happened in Thailand. Although the de facto chairman of the Moving Forward Party, Pita Limjaroenrat as the biggest vote winner in the election, has the strongest legitimacy to be elected as prime minister, this was countered by a political "wall" erected by a coalition of Thai elites and military. In the end, the strong capital of young people must indeed be progressive as their door to seize the political stage.

AFP/JACK TAYLOR

Ribbon Limjaroenrat posed in front of the camera after a press conference at the party headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand, on May 15, 2023.

In Indonesia, this great idea has become a difficult challenge for young politicians to realize. Until now, these big narratives have not been able to be presented by young people on the national political stage.

Member of the Board of Trustees of the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem), Titi Anggraini, in a discussion with Kompas Research and Development in Jakarta, Wednesday (5/7/2023), said that there was no strong narrative brought by young people in Indonesia in the political sphere.

The lack of narrative was also agreed by a Research Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Research at Unika Atma Jaya, Yoes Kenawas, during an online interview, Friday (30/6/2023). "Young people in Indonesia are still stuck in the comfort zone," he said. (COMPAS R&D)

Also read: Young Politics, Where Are You Going?