Over half of Dutch don't have much confidence in government: SCP

Despite a slight revival around last year’s parliamentary elections and the announcement of the Schoof I Cabinet in June, Netherlands residents have had little confidence in their government since 2021. Dutch people believe the government achieves little. They feel unheard and that the government doesn’t stand up for people like them, the Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP) concluded in a study published on Tuesday.

The SCP study showed that 51 percent of Dutch gave the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament, a passing grade of 6 or higher. Only 49 percent gave the government a passing grade. National politics received a failing grade from 55 percent of Netherlands residents.

Netherlands residents expect the government to provide solutions to complex issues like immigration, the high cost of living, the housing shortage, and the climate crisis. They feel that the government achieves little on these fronts.

A large majority think the government pays insufficient attention to the interests of people with lower incomes, people who live outside the Randstad, young people, people with disabilities, people with lower education levels, and the elderly. Many also said there is too little attention for rich people, people in the Randstad, and highly educated people. This shows that a broad range in Dutch society feels unheard by politicians.

43 percent believe politicians don’t listen to citizens enough and should pay more attention to “ordinary people,” “hard-working Dutch people,” or “middle groups.” 57 percent think that politicians don’t stand up enough for people like them.

“People who do not feel heard by politicians have less confidence in those politicians and are less satisfied with democracy than people who feel that they are listened to sufficiently,” the SCP said. “For some, not feeling heard leads to feelings of anger, frustration, or powerlessness, and for others to resignation.”

The SCP advised politicians to go into the country more and connect with citizens. “Many citizens seem to long for attentive politics that is in close contact with the population,” the planning office said.

The SCP also urged the Cabinet to show their work. “To restore trust in politics, it is important that concrete results are achieved on the issues that we face, such as migration and the climate,” the SCP said. Citizens have high expectations of the government in this regard but differ greatly in what they consider important and what solutions they want.

“It is important that politicians outline the dilemmas they face but also indicate that there are limits to what they can achieve,” the SCP said. “By making the democratic process of weighing and balancing interests transparent, they can also provide direction to the political and social debate.”