I want to bring a fresh approach to politics that starts at your and my doorstep – for you, for me and not least for our children.
My name is Josefine, I am 34 years old and I am running for the Hesse state parliamentary elections on 8 October 2023 for the SPD in the Bergstrasse II constituency.
The Bergstrasse is my home and Bensheim is my hometown. I know this area well and enjoy the treasures of our beautiful region every day. This is where I was born and went to school. This was my haven while I was at university. This is where I deliberately returned to with my own family. Because this is where I want my children to grow up.
I am certain: Politics needs new ideas and fresh communication that makes people want to have their say again. And I want to convince you that:
Education and Career
I have fond memories of my school days at the AKG in Bensheim. I was head of the student council there. My desire to create spaces for and with young people, and above all to involve them directly, also dates back to this time. As an honorary municipal councillor in the town of Bensheim, I recently conducted an extensive youth survey that gave young people in Bensheim a voice for the first time. My position as deputy chairperson in the Verein für Kinderhauserziehung e.V. also means that I’m familiar with a wide spectrum of child and youth welfare services in the Bergstrasse district.
When I first started studying economics, I often questioned whether I had chosen the right course. I certainly wouldn’t have believed as a young student that I would one day write a doctoral thesis at the University of Hamburg. I owe my enthusiasm for working with figures and statistics primarily to my time in the Education and Family Department at the German Institute for Economic Research, which brought home to me the many concrete benefits of investing in education. Figures also accompany me in my honorary position as deputy chairperson of the Sparkassenzweckverband of the Sparkasse Bensheim and also when preparing the annual budget for the town as a municipal councillor in Bensheim.
Scientific findings must be transferred to where they have the greatest impact: politics!
I have now turned my passion for high-quality early childhood education into my profession and combine science with practice in a managerial position for an independent daycare provider.
Topics
The most important task for the SPD is and remains to ensure social justice. No one can do that better than us. But we have to make social justice tangible. This includes good schools that have arrived in the digital age, a place in a good daycare setting free of charge for every child, and attractive workplaces where work-life balance is no longer a foreign concept. This also includes a robust healthcare system and greater appreciation of those professions that we need most urgently. All of these issues gained importance during the coronavirus crisis.
Personally, I came to the SPD through education policy. All children should have the same opportunities, that seemed obvious to me even as a schoolgirl. With time, I had to realise that this is not true in our country. Opportunities and prospects are unfairly distributed and often have little to do with performance and ability. That makes me angry and I want that to change. My political home is the place where people work together to make it happen. That is why I’ve been a proud member of the SPD since 2013.
Our topics are fresher than ever.
But I am also a social democrat because I know that we can only defend the democratic values of our society if we stand up for them openly and confidently. We must stand up to the opponents of our democracy. With action and a fresh approach to politics that creates more trust again.
Forward-looking Politics for our Quality of Life at Home
As a member of the state parliament for our home region, it’s primarily the issues that matter most to our state that I can tackle in Wiesbaden. But above all, I want to work on your quality of life locally.
For many people of my generation, quality of life means above all finding affordable housing and being able to reliably combine work and family. For my grandfather, quality of life depends on being provided with dignified care, which our healthcare system currently fails to deliver. I want my children to still enjoy a good quality of life when they are as old as my grandfather, and this is where the state government of Hesse is required to do its part for the energy transition, including speeding up the approval procedures for wind turbines - in Hesse, we are sadly currently at the top of the league table for the longest proceedings on average. For all of us, however, the quality of life increases when our municipalities receive more pocket money and no longer have to scramble from one bureaucratic funding monster to the next.
More pocket money for swimming pools where our children can take a beginners’ swimming course free of charge and free from bureaucracy. More pocket money for vibrant meeting places in our towns and communities. For our libraries, which also provide a place to do homework for those children who don’t have one at home.
Increasing pocket money for municipalities is overdue.
I want to talk to you about all this and so much more. All this and so much more can be tackled by taking a fresh look at issues for the future. If I may make a case for your front door.
Here we go.
Running for election as a working mother of four children is a decision I did not take lightly. But I believe I have what it takes. I turn 24 hours into at least 48 every day with children, work and volunteering. At the same time, I know that a man in my position would not be asked such a question.
Time doesn’t get any easier if we don’t move.
I am Josefine and I would like to represent you as a member of the Hesse State Parliament. That’s why I’m asking you to vote for me on 8 October 2023. Let’s use the time until then to get to know each other.
When Will We See Each Other Again?
If you want, we can meet online every day. Just follow me on Instagram or Facebook. You can meet Willy and me live and in colour, for example, on my summer tour. And you can contact me by e-mail at josefine@josefinekoebe.de.
