Quarter of Netherlands residents don’t feel represented by politics

A quarter of the Dutch population does not feel represented by any political party, according to a survey by Kieskompas and ANP, completed by over 13,000 people.

People who indicate they will cast a blank ballot in the upcoming parliamentary elections, or who are undecided on who to vote for, believe that no political party aligns with their ideals. Just over half of the population believes that politics is representative.

JA21 seems to be attracting a relatively large number of people who do not feel represented by the party, but will vote for it anyway. This is also the case for SP and the animal party PvdD.

SGP voters feel best represented. Over three-quarters of respondents who plan to vote for the conservative Christian party feel the party is representative of them. People who intend to vote for GroenLinks-PvdA and DENK also generally feel represented by their party.

Younger voters feel particularly well represented by politics, with over half of respondents between the ages of 18 and 34 considering at least one party representative. This is quite remarkable, given that very few young adult candidates stand a chance of gaining a seat in parliament this election.

People between the ages of 35 and 49 are most likely to feel that no party represents them, totaling over a quarter.

Vocationally educated people feel less represented by political parties than theoretically educated people. Over half (57 percent) of theoretically educated respondents believe there is a party that represents them, compared to less than half (46 percent) of practically educated respondents.

Kieskompas conducted the survey between September 26 and 30. A representative group of 13,159 Dutch adults completed it. They gave their opinion on the statement: "I feel represented by (at least) one political party."