HOW TO BUILD A YOUTH WING

mother party will work jointly for votes, influence and the power to move society
in the desired direction.
The youth wings will choose which candidates from the mother party to assist.
This could be first-time candidates or previous ministers. The chosen ones
can normally be sure they have a campaign manager and a team willing to work
day after day for their candidacy. Experience shows (and this is regardless of
the size of the mother party) that the mother party’s dependence on the youth
wing is quite noticeable during elections.
Obviously, the youth wing can use this clout to campaign for their favourite
candidates – but normally they will also show their loyalty to the party by
campaigning for the frontrunner.
STOP TALKING – START LISTENING
A Danish youth party is inviting politicians to visit different schools for vocational
training and listen to what the students have to say. Instead of the traditional
model where the politicians are talking and the audience is listening, this is the
other way round. The politicians are seated as listeners and the youth is in the panel
answering the questions from the politicians after having delivered their speech.
5th TOPIC
FUTURE POLITICAL CANDIDATES OR AGENTS FOR CHANGE?
In some youth wings, it might be controversial to talk about “making a political
career” or to characterize the youth wing as a “talent factory” for the production
of future political candidates.
The joining of the youth political party is considered an active engagement
in the development of a democratic society in itself, and it is important to attract
all kinds of people to join the youth wings, not just the future generation
of politicians. Some youth politicians therefore define themselves as ‘activists’,
thereby keeping a distance to the formal political system.
At the same time, it is a fact that the majority of the politicians in some
Danish parties will have joined the respective youth wing before entering into
national politics. Such a process is in no way surprising. People will enter youth
politics having a strong political commitment, and eventually the engagement
develops and new ways of gaining influence and making politics will appear.
Also, having joined, campaigned and negotiated for a youth wing for years will
provide the youth politicians with major political skills and a solid network not
available to everybody. And all of a sudden, the former youth politicians are attractive
candidates running for political office.
But the point of departure is worth keeping in mind in the development
of the youth wing. As expressed by a Danish youth politician from the Young
Conservatives:
“The most important thing for us as young members of a political party is
HOW TO BUILD A YOUTH WING DANIsH INsTITUTe fOr pArTIes AND DemOcrAcY pAGe 47