Dutch voters eager to see new faces in parliament

More than half of Dutch voters are eager to see many new faces in the Tweede Kamer after the parliamentary elections on November 22, according to a study by Panel Inzicht commissioned by AD in the run-up to the elections.

The fact that so many Netherlands residents are adopting an “out with the old, in with the new” attitude may be due to low confidence in the politicians currently representing the people in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament. Twenty percent think their trust will increase after the election.

Seventy percent of voters say they don’t have any trust in politicians, and 59 percent think there is too large a gap between politicians and citizens. Eighty percent said there are too many political parties. The Netherlands residents gave politics a failing score of 4.1 out of 10.

Asked how much attention they pay to politics, 55 percent said they are interested, and 20 percent said they are very interested. Only 6 percent showed no interest in politics. So, the mistrust in politicians seems to come from an informed place, at least.

And voters don’t intend to leave their dissatisfaction at complaints. A massive 81 percent plan to vote in the elections next month and another 10 percent will “probably” vote.

Researchers from the Cultural and Planning Office (SCP) called the high interest in politics and intention to vote hopeful signs.

“People have not dropped out; they are involved and critical, and there is reason for that,” Emily Miltenburg of the SCP told AD, adding that trust in politics often fluctuates. “It seems to me to be a healthy democratic practice that people are now giving out a failing grade. It took a long time for the Cabinet to be formed, it fell prematurely, and few problems have been solved in the meantime.”