War in Ukraine shows little effect on Dutch voting choices

Nearly two thirds of people surveyed by research agency Kantar say the war in Ukraine will not affect their vote choice in the upcoming municipal elections, NOS reports. The war is also not causing many more people to go to the polls.

The study was taken from a representative sample of almost 1,200 people. Twenty percent of them said the war will have some impact on their voting choice, but only five percent believed this impact would be fair or very high.

"Due to the war in Ukraine, 70 percent of Dutch people say they are more aware of the importance of a healthy democracy,” researcher Manuel Kaal of Kantar explained to NOS. “However, the war will not lead to a major 'run' on the ballot boxes.”

In addition, one in 10 people thought refugee reception was an important issue for voters. Researchers expressed surprise that 64 percent of the people surveyed were not aware whether or not refugee intake was an election theme in their municipality.

However, 69 percent of people surveyed did express concern that the war would worsen. These concerns were mainly tied to financial impacts. The energy transition was another major theme for respondents.

"We know that six out of ten Dutch people consider the impact of the war on society to be so great that in their view municipal elections cannot change that,” Kaal told NOS.