Student and Lower House member
‘This is not an internship’
Door Thijs van Eijck
By Thijs van Eijck
Thijs van Eijck
No. He has no contact at all with the people from Forum for Democracy. ‘I have no need for that.’
But other than that, Julian Bushoff has no problem at all with having a beer after a heated debate with colleagues, even if they belong to parties whose ideals differ greatly from his own PvdA-GroenLinks.
‘I think it’s very important that we maintain proper personal relationships,’ says the student of economics and international relations. ‘That we try to get along, even if we disagree. There are plenty of people from, for example, the PVV or VVD with whom I get along fine.’
But the positions of Forum for Democracy on issues like immigration and climate are light-years away from his own ideals. He wants nothing to do with them. ‘I have to draw the line somewhere.’
Disadvantaged groups
Two years ago, Julian unexpectedly gained a seat in the Dutch Lower House. In the March 2021 elections – when he was in thirteenth place on the PvdA list – he just missed out, but when former House Speaker Khadija Arib left a year later, he got his chance.
There are plenty of PVV or VVD members with whom I get along fine
Even after the most recent elections, he retained his seat, now for the merged party PvdA-GroenLinks. Over the past few years, he has mainly focused on advocating for disadvantaged groups. One such group is post-Covid patients, who often didn’t receive adequate care. ‘Someone close to me told me that I really needed to talk to someone with post-Covid. I take those kinds of experiences with me into politics.’
Julian proposed establishing special clinics for post-COVID patients and got support from the House. ‘That was particularly gratifying. Just like when I manage to secure a new or renovated house for a street in an earthquake zone that’s just outside a compensation area. It might seem like something small, but for those people, it’s a very big deal.’
And if that means he sometimes has to sit in one of the blue chairs in the Lower House until 3 in the morning, he is more than happy to do so. ‘It’s still a beautiful job.’
Work harder
The recent political shifts, which were not in his party’s favour, may result in even more work for Julian: ‘This government has even worse plans than the previous one, so that’s concerning.’ But at the same time, it’s making him want to work even harder as an opposition member.
Still, it’s not easy being a social democrat in the House, which has become much more right-wing after the 2023 elections. ‘It can be frustrating when your debate proposal doesn’t pass. But it’s my job to find a majority in the House. Sometimes that’s easy, and sometimes it isn’t.’
This government has even worse plans than the previous one
He has seen the mood change. ‘The content of debates is much less important than during my first two years,’ he says. ‘At the same time, personal attacks are increasing. The debates are becoming more fraught, and that’s a shame. We need to start focusing on the content again.’
Not that he can’t handle a fierce debate. For an important debate, Julian always feels a ‘healthy competitive tension,’ he says. ‘That’s fine, as it keeps you on your toes. You need that tension, it’s something we should cherish within democracy.’ But he feels that the extent to which it’s happening now goes a bit too far.
Getting better
On top of that, some political opponents simply have more experience than he does. But Julian refuses to let them treat him like a newbie. ‘This is not an internship, you know? I actually represent people.’
So he tries to get better every day. ‘I have a tendency to blame myself if a debate doesn’t go well, or if I don’t get what I want. In those situations, I try to critically reflect on myself and what I could have done better.’
The speed and pressure are higher than I had anticipated
That’s why he also closely observes how experienced politicians handle things. His colleague from Groningen, Henk Nijboer, helped him immensely in his first few months with feedback on debating and everyday matters in the House. ‘I also like having a small group around me, including former politicians, who give me feedback, both solicited and unsolicited, on such matters.’
A bit of help in his first year was certainly welcome. While he had some experience in the Groningen city council, The Hague is a different ball game. ‘The speed and pressure at which things are handled in the House is even higher than I had anticipated. It’s quite different from local politics.’
Other things
On weekends, when he takes the train back to the North, he can disconnect from politics for a while. Groningen, he says, still feels like home. He even takes a longer route home from the train station so he can bike through the city centre. ‘I make sure to go past the Folkingestraat, Vismarkt, and the Hoge der Aa. That way, I immediately feel like I’m back home in my own city.’
He enjoys occupying himself with other things during those days. ‘When I’m sitting in the stands at FC Groningen or standing in a Groningen pub, I’m no longer thinking about politics, and that’s really nice. That is, until my friends ask me if I can “fix” things for them.’
His studies, however, aren’t really progressing, he admits. He had planned to finish them two years ago, but he still hasn’t managed it. ‘The work in the House has taken up all my time.’
Julian has to meet all the requirements, just like any other student. ‘That’s completely fair, though sometimes it’s a bit tricky with things like mandatory attendance,’ he says. ‘But with a little help from the UG, I still want to try to finish at least one degree this year.’