In ageing societies like Europe, young people have little of the political power needed to influence decisions that impact their lives. As a group for whom sustainability is a prominent concern, futureproofing cities relies on their involvement in the democratic process. That’s what motivated Hanah Lahe to make a stand – literally, for election. She tells us why the political common ground is needed to tackle wicked problems, how to turn opponents into allies, and how sometimes a split-second decision can lead to benefits that 30 years of debate have failed to achieve.
When Estonian Member of Parliament Hanah Lahe set up an impromptu parklet outside Estonia’s parliament building in Tallinn, she had no idea how popular it would prove to be.
“One time I came back and saw this famous politician from the opposition giving an interview in my park. It was fun. People really wanted to use the space. It shows that it’s much needed.”
It is. A report by the country’s national transportation office found that the medium length of a car journey in Estonia’s capital city is just three kilometres. This is a symptom of poor urban design, Hanah says.
“People are comfortable doing reasonable things. So if it’s more reasonable to get from point A to point B via car than it is to walk, then they will take a car.”
This could be why Tallinn has what might be the only historic parliament building with a car park directly outside, our CityChanger speculates. She believes that citizens deserve to be prouder of their heritage.
“I’ve noticed that whenever tourists come here to the Old Town, they take pictures with [the Russian Orthodox] Nevsky Cathedral and they don’t even notice that the parliament is behind them. That’s because there are so many cars, they just figure it must be some sort of an office.”
Creating an Impromptu Parklet
Discussions about transforming the space have been ongoing since Estonia gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Hanah made it happen in minutes.
One day after a general assembly in Estonia’s parliament, the Riigikogu, she spontaneously salvaged the decorative plant arrangements that were destined for landfill. Instead, Hanah took them directly outside transformed a single car parking space into a mini oasis.
“I just tried to spark some interest, and it really went viral,” she explains.
A local exterior design company donated some garden furniture, and the space doubled in size. Still replacing room for only two cars, the parklet became a place to escape to.
This all happened against a heated backdrop of Estonia debating the marriage equality law, which Hanah was instrumental in getting passed. Parliamentary debates were long and fraught. “We had night sessions, and sometimes it got too much to be in here,” Hannah remembers. “The environment was really challenging, but I had this park and people came there to breathe fresh air and eat their dinner.”
Even conservative politicians – some opposed to curbing access for cars – used it as a meeting place; that, Hanah observes, proves how sustainability solutions can win around sceptics when they’re presented with clear and tangible benefits.
Bite-sized Climate Action
As it happens, much of Hanah’s work as a parliamentarian seems to involve shifting perspectives.
For example, she criticises the language we use when talking about wicked problems. ‘Climate crisis’ is the best example. It sounds too big to handle.
Instead, we should tone down the existential threat and speak of it as a “horizontal problem”: a collection of issues which we can manage individually or at least in smaller clusters.
If you say you’re dealing with the climate crisis, you always have to ask what area because it just touches everything.
That’s why Hanah took advantage of a parliamentary mechanism to set up a cross-party working group on a topic of her choosing.
The Circular Economy Support Group aims to establish foundations for a full-blown circular economy. Part of their task is to weed out risk-averse legislation that holds back innovation.
“Consumers want to do better, so the market needs to follow” Hanah says of citizens looking for ways to live more sustainable lifestyles. “I feel like we’re really missing the systematic thinking, how to actually get circular resources to make profit.”
She’s not alone. Attendance is voluntary, but it “is one of the few groups in the parliament that has representatives from all different parties” attend, Hannah tells us. At times, there’s up to “60 entrepreneurs or representatives of different interest groups”.
There are still many problems left to solve, she concedes, but a circular economy has the potential to bridge differences along the political spectrum; it apparently appeals to environmentalists and conservatives alike.
“It’s a new way for the economy to align with the planetary boundaries, and for entrepreneurs to get a competitive advantage.”
Young People’s Role in the Politics of Sustainability
Hanah recently graduated with a master’s degree in environmental management and politics, culminating in a thesis on Estonia’s proposed climate laws. It gives her a solid knowledge base needed to contribute to debates and the Riigikogu’s various groups, including the LGBT+ community support group, Environment Committee, and the European Union Affairs Committee.
Just a few years ago, the idea of this could have shocked her.
Representation Matters
“As a young person, I didn’t understand why politics would matter for me,” Hanah confesses, looking back at her 16-year-old self – the age at which Estonians can vote in local elections. “I never went to vote because I didn’t find any representation.”
It may have been different had she lived in a larger city which offered a broader political choice. But Hanah grew up in Haapsalu – a small town in the west of Estonia that’s home to around 10,000 citizens, she estimates. The candidates “were usually older men talking about things like defence and the economy”. Not what matters in the everyday lives of youngsters.
“Representation really matters.”
There is a general malaise among the youth for the democratic process around the world, and Estonia is no exception. A low turnout was recorded in their two most recent elections – at national level and for the 2024 European Parliament.
Activating the Political Youth
“The less young people care about politics and making a difference, then the more older people will make decisions for them,” Hanah warns, especially as the EU’s population continues to age. “This reflects in different drafts and bills we have in the parliament that affects youth.”
This is not to say that young people aren’t already politically aware. We only need look at movements like Fridays for Future and the campus protests over the conflict in Gaza to see how they mobilise for causes they care about. But it seems that young people prefer activism – via protest or speaking out on social media – over taking to the polls.
In a democracy, votes carry weight. So Hanah dedicates a chunk of her time to being the role model that she knows is missing.
There’s a big conflict between who’s more active and who’s actually represented and who’s the decision maker.
In 2023, aged 23, Hanah was elected as the youngest member of Estonia’s parliament joining Prime Minister Kaja Kallas’ governing Reform party. This makes her one of only two out of 101 members of Estonia’s parliament below the age of 30, she tells us.
Her age gained Hanah a lot of media attention but most of it fails to note the advantage youth provides: teenagers and other young people relate to her. When Hanah tells them they have a chance to influence what happens in their country, they see it’s true, and they listen.
Be Seen, Be Heard
“I work with young people a lot. So, either I have work shadows, or I go to meet with them in schools; I actively take part in debates, or different panel discussions.”
This is Hanah’s response to a political system that fails young people – like it did her – long before they’re eligible to vote.
“Maybe if someone my age, like a new and ambitious politician, would have come to me in school and explain their work, I would have started with politics and working with different issues in society much earlier.”
As it happens, Hanah’s dalliance in politics only emerged after she starting working – dabbling in the banking and real estate sectors. But the real fuel to her political fire came in 2019, with the appointment of Estonia’s “right wing, extreme populist coalition”.
“It was just horrible because they wanted to leave the EU, they wanted to leave NATO. They wanted to exit the Paris agreement. They insulted our allies and our neighbours. I felt like I had to do something.”
A Question of Bridges: To Burn or Build?
Whereas the members of that coalition fed off division, Hanah’s successes are built on bridging divides.
If you get to the root of their worry or problem, then you can see solutions on how to solve it.
“I’ve learned this in politics: when I don’t agree with my colleagues’ worldview or their ideology, I still listen. I have to understand where they’re coming from.”
That understanding is what solutions are built on.
The Generation Game
Unhelpful division isn’t only along political lines, but also age, Hanah has found. This is especially frustrating regarding their reluctance to take responsibility for climate change.
“Elderly people think it’s a ‘not our business’ problem,” Hanah has found in her talks with Tallinn’s more mature residents.
But it doesn’t help to blame them for inaction or the state of the world their generations have left behind.
“If you just talk about conflict over and over again, then the bridge will just eventually break, the conflict will get bigger. But if you actually listen to the older generation and you try to understand where they’re coming from, in my own experience, most likely 99 percent of the time you will find common ground.”
As our CityChanger has learnt from the circular economy group, activating their cooperation is a matter of framing the (horizontal) problems.
“If I talk to them about practical issues like sorting waste, lowering the electricity bills, getting better transport options, then they understand it better.”
The takeaway from this, Hanah points out, is that “we definitely need to fix political communication” so that the full range of a city’s diverse demographics are informed and involved.
Advice for Next Gen Politicians
Anyone – young or old – feeling themselves answering the call to serve their fellow citizens will inevitably come up against some tough times, Hanah warns.
“Stay true to your values and remember why you want to get into politics,” she advises.
For Hanah, success came thanks to a “mission driven” campaign, promising to handle the issues that matter most to her supporters. After failing to get selected in the 2021 local elections, Hanah claims it’s “because I stayed consistent” that she found success in the national election two years later.
Her continued success in post comes not only because she has delivered on her promises – the parklet being a symbol of her commitment to green issues – but also because Hanah took the time to learn the ropes, inside out.
It’s hard to break through, but if you learn from the grassroots, then it might be easier.
How to Get Started in Politics
She first joining a political youth organisation, then worked in the campaign office, and finally assisted a deputy speaker in parliament. “That’s how I got in the system,” she explains. “It’s easier to start from the local level and see how you can build up from there.”
For those not so keen on public service, Hanah still encourages political activism as a means to support the environmental agenda.
That could be by joining a youth or civil society organisation that’s lobbying for better spaces and systems, she suggests. It “doesn’t have to be a party.”
But most of all, Hanah says, it’s important for young people to “be very vocal about who you’re voting for”. In a political landscape where youth feel sidelined, this may be what alerts likeminded people to a candidate which they weren’t aware of and mobilises more people to vote the same way.
And remember, Hanah concludes, protest is a valid and powerful form of political activism too.
“If there is no one running in your area that you really like then you have to be vocal about this too, because then you’re demanding change.”