Tell us about the first time you remember getting in touch with politics. How, when and where did that happen? What was it about and how did you feel about it?
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Answering such a question is of course linked to what one considers āgetting in touch with politicsā. Is it watching and commenting on the news with oneās parents when 7 or 8 years old ? Becoming a class delegate when aged 12 ? Is it involving oneself in the universityās management during oneās two degrees, discussing with teachers about the courses program, the libraryās management and how to fire teachers harassing students ?
One could also say that getting elected to a buildingās owners committee only days after buying oneās first apartment in 2009 was the first step in āreal world politicsā ? Then there are also the many times when a friend, a political scientist rather active in the media, asks for your input on various topics and then proposes in 2011 to co-write articles for the newspaper āLes Echosā on the Greek financial crisis : thatās another way to participate in the political debate.
But if you only consider real politics to be involvement with political parties and politicians then another timeline emerges : the first contact was meeting a minister, my uncleās boss, at a political rally/barbecue when I was a teenager. Then there was the time, during an electoral campaign, when a sitting member of the belgian federal parliament came to campaign in my building and did actually do the work of following up on the issues I discussed with her, asking the question in parliament and not forgetting to send me the answer she received a few months (and two ministers) later.
More active on my side, there was the time when I took the time to write an in-depth answer to a municipal project, sending over 10 pages of observations which the authorities thought to have been the work of a whole association.
Around 2015 I came to the conclusion that we needed the authoritiesā support to solve some of the issues of the building in which I live, which is built in the poorest neighbourhood of my country. I started to go to the meetings of the municipal council, saw who worked and who did nothing. I spoke with the representatives, made my own opinion on the issues being discussed. Both main political groups reached out to me, I decided to go to the assemblies of one of the group which I deemed more competent, to have ideas better aligned with my standards and the capacity to act on its ideas if given access to power.
In 2018 I was asked to be on the candidatesā list for the municipal elections. I agreed. I was not directly elected but a resignation meant that in March 2019 I became a city councilman, trying to do my best for the 27000 inhabitants of my 1kmĀ² municipality in the heart of Brussels. I served during the COVID period, and after too : in 2024 I campaigned again, but the election was cancelled due to electoral fraud. In April 2025 I was reelected to my seat, and I keep fighting.
All this felt largely natural, an evolution born of values, of readings, of a strong influence from Stoic philosophers. Yes it causes so much frustration, because one canāt achieve what one sets out to do, because one sees how much destruction, mistakes, graft and corruption are present in the system. The sheer incompetence of so many actors, be they ministers, parlementarians or just local city councilmen. The little ego infightings amongst the partiesā political personnel, taking so much time and energy to the detriment of the debate of ideas and progression of actual necessary reforms.
Yet I keep doing my best to defend my neighbours, and the citizens of my municipality. When the mayor tries to close an organization that provides roofs over the head of more than 200 families I look for solutions to either save the organization or attempt to find solutions to keep those people lodged in decent housing. I want to rage when I hear talks about closing down the municipal polyclinic or the elderly care home because money has been so mis-managed that it has become impossible to pay salaries. But then I go back to Epictetus, to Seneca, to Marcus Aurelius, I take a deep breath, and I go back to the fight knowing that once every disgusted person has left politics only the disgusting remain, as the US or Israeli situations make abundantly clear with the actions of mister T and mister Nā¦
In all this I try not to let emotions speak, I repress my feelings and try to keep rational, logical, focused on the goals. When, during COVID, the mayor did not want to give even just sandwiches to the revenue-less, penny-less women victim of sex-trafficking that live in the streets near my home I was quite angry and disgusted by someone ready to let human being starve rather than help prostitutes, but I knew that while I might not manage to change his mind on that topic I still had to keep working with him on other issues, and try to give others the support they can legitimately expect from those they have elected for a position such as the one I have the privilege to hold.
And when meetings drag along uselessly, I remember that at least the small participation fee I will earn will help some students, given how Iāve always given any money made from my political activities to my former university.
I donāt do āhighā politics, I try to be a servant of the people, a servant of the democratic ideal, and to pursue the stoic ideal of ādoing good or, at least, cause no harmā. And helps me find my point of Ataraxia.
Thatās my story with politics.
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Prima oara cand am fost implicat in politica a fost acum 6 ani. PÄrinČii mei m-au luat cu ei si am mers la secČia de votare. Acolo mi-au indicat unde sa pun stampila. Sincer sa fiu, am simtit ceva unic, am simČit ca pot face o schimbare, chiar daca nu Čtiam ce aleg, sau pe cine am votat, Ć®nsÄ cu timpul am Ć®nvÄČat cum se voteazÄ, cum sa votez si cum trebui sa votez
Prima data cĆ¢nd am intrat in contact cu politica a fost la aproximativ 13 ani, in clasa a 7a, cĆ¢nd am decis sa candidez pentru un post in Consiliul Čcolar al Elevilor. A trebuit sa ma gĆ¢ndesc la ce as face ca sa Ć®mbunÄtÄČesc situaČia Čcolii la care Ć®nvÄČam, strategii de alianČÄ cu alČi candidaČi, astfel Ć®ncĆ¢t sa ne adunam votanČii, campanie cu discursuri in clase.
A fost o interactiune care m-a indus in eroare. Nu cunosteam ce presupune politice, cine e in politica sau ce estez de fapt, politica. In mare parte, inceputurile cunostintelor mele despre politica au venit de la conversatiile parintilor mei ascultate pe ascuns, din fundul camerei, la mesele din familie. De la curiozitatea despre ce inseamna āpoliticaā la a observa cum, la randul meu, ma pot implica in asa ceva, au fost multe dezbateri, conversatii si activitati extracuriculare.
Primul meu contact cu politica a fost cĆ¢nd eram mica Ć®n jur de 6-8 ani Či eram cu bunicul mea acasÄ. El a Ć®nceput sa Ć®mi povesteascÄ despre Vadim Tudor, ca el este un om foarte educat Či deČtept cu cunoČtinČe reale Či Čtie ce face Ć®n politica. In plus Ć®mi spunea ca el merita sa fie preČedinte nu Iliescu.
English Translation
āā¦[stuff] related to politics andā¦ mmā¦ it happened that I was in the same room with them. And at that time, I didnāt really understand everything that was being discussed there, but with time I started to understand the context and the political ideas, more things about the government, political parties, and with time I started to develop my own ideas related to these things.ā
Original Romanian Transcription
āā¦legate de politicÄ Čiā¦ mmā¦ s-a Ć®ntĆ¢mplat sÄ mÄ aflu Ć®n aceeaČi camerÄ cu ei. Či Ć®n momentul dat, nu Ć®nČelegeam eu chiar tot ce se discuta acolo, dar cu timpul am Ć®nceput sÄ Ć®nČeleg contextul Či ideile politice, mai multe chestii despre guvern, partidele politice Či cu timpul am Ć®nceput sÄ-mi dezvolt eu propriile mele idei legate de aceste lucruri.ā