If you asked a bunch of people about the most challenging and confusing period in their lives, they would probably point to their teenage years. Your body is going through many changes; you don’t know what you want to be when you grow up and you have no idea who you are because you still haven’t entirely shed the beliefs your parents have made you swallow up whole. It’s a time of instability and flux, underpinned by the delusional belief that you’re a grown-up and do, in fact, know it all.
Perhaps the latter misplaced certainty is the most dangerous part of being an adolescent. There’s no arrogance quite like the arrogance of youth or, rather, I thought there was nothing that could match it until very recently.
As of yesterday, 16-year-olds can become mayors. Yes, you read that right. Your pimply next-door neighbour’s child, who you saw trying and failing to woe a girl at the village feast a month ago, could now be responsible for your town’s innings and outings. They won’t be able to drive to you to hear your complaints, or legally drink the whiskey you’re offering them; however, the fate of the patch of land you call home could lie in their hands should you vote for them. As usual, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. I’m just at a loss.
In what world does anyone think this is a good idea? With all the respect in the world to teenagers, which 16-year-old is emotionally and mentally prepared to deal with the many challenging issues that being a mayor entails? It’s ludicrous even to expect it from people so young. And we haven’t even started discussing how this will impact their future. Sixteen-year-olds should be in school trying to make sense of the next chapter in their lives, not trying to fix a parking space for an old lady.
Would someone in their 30s or 40s even be able to take a 16-year-old seriously? Being a mayor requires authority and what kind of authority can you hope to hold over others with such a limited amount of life experience? This isn’t a student exchange - it’s real life.
As usual, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. I’m just at a loss- Anna Marie Galea
It’s things like this which really make me doubt the intentions of the people in power. Have they just run out of things to promise minorities to distract from the messes they keep causing in each sector? Is this just a not-so-veiled ploy to be able to control and manipulate even more people?
After all, how many 16-year-olds would dare take a stand against a member of parliament? We are talking about a life of service to the public here; which 16-year-old can understand the ramifications of what that entails? Every relationship and every wrong turning will be scrutinised and used as ammunition at the most vulnerable time in your life. With such an inevitable loss to your privacy, it’s almost cruel even to make this possible.
Youth is there to be lived and, sadly, to be unappreciated by those who have it. It’s certainly not there for politicians to exploit. This latest move smacks of grooming and its implications are downright worrying.
No matter what anyone says, this is not what democracy looks like.