DWARS Overijssel in conversation with candidate MP Romano Boshove from Salland

On Wednesday evening 24 February, members of DWARS Overijssel went online to talk to Romano Boshove, parliamentary party leader for GroenLinks in Hardenberg and current number 33 on GroenLinks's Lower House list. The conversation covered Romano's motivations for becoming politically active, his work as a councillor in Hardenberg and his experiences as a candidate MP during this particular campaign.

The campaign for the Lower House elections on 15, 16 and 17 March has now started and for GroenLinks's local political youth organisation, DWARS Overijssel, this was reason to enter into an online conversation with Romano Boshove (24). Romano, himself an active member of DWARS Overijssel, is currently parliamentary party leader for GroenLinks in the Hardenberg municipal council and is also eligible for election to seat 33 as a member of parliament for the same party. During the online discussion, led by Jarno van Straaten, the chairman of DWARS Overijssel, Romano talked about what it is like to be politically active as a young person.

Romano became politically aware in 2017 when he wrote a letter to Jesse Klaver. After this, he was soon approached by GroenLinks Hardenberg and came second on the list in the 2018 municipal elections. As the number one had to resign rather quickly, Romano became a councillor a few months after the elections. Romano sees Hardenberg as a municipal council that looks beyond party colours, where you can achieve a lot even with one seat. A motion of his calling for the admission of unaccompanied child refugees from Moria camp was passed unanimously. As a councillor, Romano believes it is important to be accessible in an approachable way. “Social studies classes and school debates are what I like most to be able to contribute to,” he told us. “Especially because you speak to a lot of young people there who are starting to understand.”

Romano had initially applied as a candidate MP mainly to witness the process. After writing a cover letter and having an interview about his ambitions, being a MP and functioning, Romano finally got the phone call in which he heard that he got a place on the list. Now in his twenties on the list, Romano is much engaged in student debates and other activities on youth issues during the campaign. He gets energy from the spontaneous conversations he can have here. He also finds it important to translate GroenLinks's election programme to the eastern Netherlands. For the issues at play in Overijssel (the succession and sustainability of agricultural businesses, sustainability of natural areas and liveability in villages), GroenLinks has solutions, and Romano sees it as his role to tell this story.