Volt look-back: 2022
As the year is drawing to an end, it is time to sit back and reflect on our great achievements this year.
As the year is drawing to an end, it is time to sit back and reflect on our great achievements this year.
2022 has been a big year for our party. We ran in 4 national elections and 4 regional elections, and set up various new national chapters. We surpassed the threshold of 25,000 Volters, and now have a total of 115 elected officials.
Up to a more united Europe in 2023!
What happened all over Europe
Volt was part of the Conference on the Future of Europe, pushing to include the abolishment of the veto in the Council onto the final report of the Democracy Working Group.
Volt members met in the Prague General Assembly. Members voted for the 2024 EU elections topics, and put up a strong stance against Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, making it to Politico.
Volt’s communication team started actively publishing thought leadership on our European blog, addressing big European issues like Europe’s policy on climate and defence.
What happened in Brussels
Our MEP Damian Boeselager and his team made a big impact this year. Here are some of our highlights:
On transnational candidates, he negotiates an election amendment which the EP adopted. A giant leap for a more European democracy!
On Ukraine, he visited Kiev and spoke out strongly on support for Ukraine. After, he co-wrote an excellent article in Politico with a Ukrainian member of parliament. They noted that sanctions currently focus on high-level politicians and oligarchs that do not necessarily support the regime. They observed that Putin’s political outfit United Russia has some 77,500 members of regional parliaments and local councils in Russia, which directly or indirectly support the regime. As their names are part of the public domain, they suggest we target all with sanctions such as EU travel bans and asset freezes.
On Energy and climate, Damian finalised the negotiation of RePowerEU, a fund to create energy independence from Russia. He paid particular mind to adding sensible boundaries for oil and gas, by differentiating between the short-term energy crisis and the long term climate crisis. His objective was clear: to minimise our fossil fuel dependency in the next decades.
On authoritarian member states, he speeched in EU parliament on uncontrolled men blackmailing the European Union, urging parliament to block cash streams to his government. Damian keeps the focus on Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán, who spent his year blocking aid for Ukraine, and running a poster campaign against EU sanctions for Russia. Later, the EU commission freezes €22 Billion in Hungarian EU funds.
What happened Nationally
Netherlands — Volt is tackling children’s concentration problems at school to fight inequality. MP Laurens Dassen submits a majority of chamber-backed a motion to dedicate €100M for free school lunches.
Netherlands — Volt is on a roll protecting lower income citizens. MP Marieke Koekkoek submits a majority of chamber-backed motion for the free distribution of period products, learning from global first Scotland.
France — In the 2022 parliamentary election, we contested in 17 / 577 constituencies, mainly in the foreign constituencies with five direct candidates. Valerie Chartrain and Laurent Romary ran in the Germany, Central Europe and Balkans constituency and won 5%
Portugal, Sweden & Malta — We contested in the 2022 general election for the first time.
Czech Republic & Greece & Estonia — Joined as authorised parties
Ukraine — Founded a national party (Slava Ukraini!)
Lithuania, Latvia — Teams in the making
What happened Regionally
Verona, Genoa, Leverano and Casiglione delle Stiviere — In the 2022 local election, Volt Italy achieved mandates in four constituencies.
Frankfurt — The Mayor of Germany’s fifth-biggest city was accused of irregularities in the expense account of his partner, who allegedly benefited from an expenses-paid high salary and automobile. He was deposed after a motion from Volt, the Greens, Social Democrats (SPD) and the Liberals (FDP).
Lower Saxony — We contested in the state election, scoring 0.5% of the vote state-wide and 1–2% in the big cities!
Switzerland & Czech Republic — Contested the 2022 local election for the first time.
What’ll happen in 2023
The next year promises to be an exciting one. We are kicking off new national parties in Lithuania and Latvia. Greece and Switzerland will hold national elections in summer, and Poland on the municipal level. As we grow our membership and pan-European collaboration, we are positive we will grow our movement to create a Europe that works for everyone!