間接的にでも政治的な活動をしている若者が増えているという。彼らはどんな動機で政治活動を始めたのだろうか。たずねてみると、「ほかの人と関わりを持ちたいから」という答えがよく返ってくる。人との関わりを求めて政治活動をするのか、と一瞬驚いたが、考えてみれば驚くことではなさそうだ。地域共同体の力が強かった時代は、地域の人との関わりを強制される面があり、自分から人と関わりを持とうとすることはあまりなかった。しかし、①今は違う。
また、「趣味やボランティア活動の延長で、政治に出会った」という話も聞く。日常の仕事から離れてサークル活動やボランティア活動をする中で政治に出会い、自然な流れで②その活動に入っていったというケースだ。
以上は、仕事以外の生きがいを求めて政治に目を向けた例といえるだろう。
一方、「就職先として政治の場を選んだ」というケースもある。政治家の公的な秘書、その秘書が雇う人、事務所の職員など、その周囲にはかなりの職がある。政治家の任期が終わり、次の選挙に落ちれば職を失うことになるが、任期中は安定している。特に参議院の議員の任期は6年だから、その秘書も6年は仕事があるわけで、一般的なアルバイトなどと比べればはるかによい。こうした選択は、長期的な就職先を見つけることが困難な時代を反映しているといえるだろう。
AI translation, cross-checked between two models.
It is said that an increasing number of young people are engaging in political activities, even if only indirectly. What motivates them to begin political activities? When asked, they often reply, “Because I want to connect with other people.” At first, I was surprised by the idea of taking part in politics in order to connect with people, but on reflection it does not seem so surprising after all. When local communities were stronger, people were in some ways forced to interact with others in their area, so there was little need to actively seek out relationships on their own. But things are different now.
I also hear people say, “I encountered politics as an extension of my hobbies or volunteer activities.” These are cases in which people take part in clubs or volunteer activities away from their everyday jobs, encounter politics there, and then naturally become involved in political activity.
The examples above can be seen as cases of people turning to politics in search of a sense of purpose outside work.
On the other hand, there are also cases of people who “choose the political world as a place of employment.” There are quite a few jobs surrounding politicians, such as official political secretaries, people hired by those secretaries, and office staff. If a politician’s term ends and they lose the next election, those employees will lose their jobs, but during the politician’s term their employment is stable. In particular, members of the House of Councillors serve six-year terms, which means their secretaries also have work for six years, making such jobs far better than ordinary part-time employment. Such choices can be said to reflect an era in which finding long-term employment has become difficult.
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