Subsequent Emily Vontz: Who is the new one in Heiko Maas’ chair?

Germany

When Emily Vontz laughs, it’s with her whole face. She shows her teeth, her nose wrinkles a little bit and her eyes shine. Emily is number 51 in the 49ers, i.e. the young socialists (Jusos) in the SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag. And she laughs a lot. There were 49 Jusos at the beginning of the legislative period. In the meantime, two have moved up, but the name 49ers has remained.

She has been a member of parliament for two weeks now, the successor to Heiko Maas (SPD). He resigned his mandate in December, clearing the way for someone younger. For Emily. The 22-year-old from Saarland, who now wants to campaign for her constituency, for her Saarland in Berlin.

The SPD politician and former Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has vacated his post.Image: dpa / Bernd von Jutrczenka

Maas is not the first Saarlander to vacate his chair for young politicians. After the election, the two CDU politicians Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and Peter Altmaier also dared to take this step. So what is going on with the politicians in Saarland that they manage to make room voluntarily?

For Emily it is clear: It is the cohesion that makes Saarland what it is. She says: “Everyone wants the best for the Saarland, even if that means putting yourself on the back burner.” This is not only the case with politicians. The Saarlanders also do their best in volunteer work. Also and precisely because the structurally weak federal state is facing a major transformation process.

Many, says Emily, are afraid of the future. And that has to be tackled together.

The Saarland woman speaks High German. Only the soft pronunciation, including many Sch sounds, suggests their southwestern origin. Nevertheless, it cannot be ignored that she loves her home and the local people. She wants to tackle the problems in the structurally weak region and listen to the electorate.

This is also one of the reasons why Emily is moving back to her home country, Losheim am See. Because the freshly crowned MP actually lives in a shared flat in Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate.

From the university to the Bundestag: Homework during the summer break

The reason: your studies. There was no bachelor’s degree in political science in Saarland, so Emily had to move to the neighboring state. She is now in her fourth semester. It is clear to her that when the legislative period is over, she wants to have her bachelor’s degree in her pocket. She promised that to herself, but also to many other people, she says.

Also because she doesn’t want to be left without an education after her time in the Bundestag. If she weren’t in Berlin right now, she would probably be doing an internship right now. Where exactly Emily wanted to go after her studies was not yet clear to her. Now it’s only three years in the Bundestag – with the option that further legislative periods will follow. But the social democrat could also imagine doing a master’s degree later.

In addition to her mandate, Emily wants to do her bachelor’s degree.picture: Fionn Great

But now it’s time to get the bachelor’s degree: Two term papers are due this semester. Emily could write them on the long train rides. Also, there is the summer break. There is certainly enough material for the bachelor thesis in political science in the Bundestag. Finally, Emily is a member of three committees: full member of the building committee and deputy member of the environmental and European committees.

And here, in her second week, she was able to experience how some older politicians look at young colleagues. In her case, it was an AfD MP who disrespectfully called her “Miss Vontz” in front of everyone else in the committee. In a disparaging tone, as Emily puts it. That was the moment when she realized that she now had to grow a thick skin.

Being the youngest can also bring hostilities

It’s exactly situations like this that Emily wants to tackle. During her time as a member of parliament, she wants to ensure that more (young) women get involved in politics. That politics is not made by old men, but that women’s concerns are addressed and discussed.

But Emily is not only observed in the committees and at work in the Bundestag, but also in the general public.

Green politician Emilia Fester can tell you a thing or two about what it’s like to be the youngest MP. Before she passed the baton of youngest to Emily, she endured a lot of hate.

So far, 24-year-old Emilia Fester (Greens) was the youngest in the Bundestag.Image: dpa / Kay Nietfeld

The name of the Greens keeps popping up in Twitter trends, and time and again conservative and right-wing actors are killing them. Now she has passed her baton to Emily. The youngest MEP is now a Social Democrat.

Emily has been following Emilia Fester on Instagram for the past year. The young socialist likes her way of communicating with the community. But:

Emily and Emilia will soon share their experiences. The social democrat also wants to pick up a few tips. Because she has never experienced a shitstorm herself – and she is happy about that. So far, however, she has never been so much in the limelight of the nationwide public as she is now. As the youngest MP, she occupies a special position.

She didn’t expect the new interest in her person, says the social democrat. The moment she realized that one of Google’s suggestions for her name was “friend,” she couldn’t believe it.

She opens her mouth and eyes and clasps her hands in front of her face. Then she laughs. Of course, she also googles stars and starlets with whom they are in a relationship. However, she never thought that one day these search suggestions would be displayed to her.

Too early for a first assessment

At the same time, Emily thinks, she is well known in her constituency anyway, because people in Saarland still know each other. In Berlin, meanwhile, there is so much political celebrity – and so much anonymity that Emily does not expect an increased interest in her.

She does not want to speak of courage in connection with her decision to move into the Bundestag. “I started to take responsibility,” she clarifies.

Even in anonymous Berlin, Emily will not be alone. Unlike some of her colleagues, she quickly found an apartment. In February she will move into a flat share. Emily is not afraid of being confronted with criticism of her work – or of her faction – there at the kitchen table and at flat share parties. She says:

Emily is clear that life as a member of parliament will be different than that of the Juso state chair and student Emily Vontz. But she is looking forward to the new task. You can see the anticipation and hope.

The new member in the Bundestag is bursting with energy. After only two weeks, it is too early for them to take stock. Now the first thing to do is to see through all the processes, to arrive, to get tips from other MPs, she says.

“Others in the parliamentary group have already jokingly said that I could top Wolfgang Schäuble’s term in office,” says Emily, laughing. The CDU politician has been a member of the German Bundestag for over 50 years. If Emily were to top his tenure, she would be over 72 years old.

The Saarland woman does not want to look that far into the future. Now it’s about the next three years. How long does the current legislative period last?