Kanawu Radio number 1 news portal
Seven out of ten Dutch people say they have lost confidence in democracy in the past five years. A majority feels insufficiently heard by politicians. This is according to research by EenVandaag Opinion Panel.
According to the researchers, confidence in democracy was already dented under the previous cabinets. There was a lot of protest against, among other things, the corona measures and the nitrogen plans. But that trust has not been restored since the new cabinet took office, says Jelle Fastenau, researcher at EenVandaag: “Due to the division between parties, voters on the left and right see little improvement.”
It is striking that the voters of the PVV belong to the group of voters who are most dissatisfied with how democracy works. The majority of the PVV supporters also feel poorly represented in The Hague, while the party of Geert Wilders has become the largest in the recent parliamentary elections and is in the government. This is partly because Wilders has not become prime minister.
Fastenau: “PVV voters are grumpy about the compromises that the PVV has to make, but that dissatisfaction is mainly aimed at other parties. For many of them, democracy means that what a large part of the people want happens. And that, according to them, is the PVV philosophy.”
But voters of opposition parties have also lost confidence in democracy. According to the research, they are concerned that politicians are becoming increasingly ‘extreme’ and say that the rule of law is being undermined. For example, left-wing voters indicate that they are concerned about plans that restrict the right of asylum.
Despite all the criticism of our political system, a majority (70 percent) would not want to exchange our form of government for another system. Almost one in five (18 percent) would prefer a system with one leader or party in charge, without having to compromise with others. Among supporters of PVV (42 percent) and Forum for Democracy (40 percent), that share is higher. A voter of the first party explains: “The winner takes it all, just like in the US. There it is clear who is the boss, whether you like it or not.”
More than three-quarters (77 percent) have confidence in elections. Only a small group (17 percent) doubts whether they are fair. The percentage who distrust elections is particularly high among participants who voted Forum for Democracy (58 percent) in the last elections or stayed at home (38 percent).