Former VVD party chairman Klaas Dijkhoff (44) has started an action group against populism. That is a movement in politics in which politicians stand up for ‘the ordinary man’ and they respond to emotions of dissatisfaction. Among the group, former party leaders such as Lodewijk Asscher from the PvdA and Gert-Jan Segers of the ChristenUnie, among others, have connected, but also well-known heads such as Willy van de Kerkhof and Frank Lammers.
The action group is called the Netherlands and must give a voice to ‘the mild majority’. “We can now choose to leave polarization, unrest and distribution behind us,” says the group. “We are not a political party, but an action group that thinks about and does what is needed to push the Netherlands in the right direction again.”
In an interview with the AD, Dijkhoff explains the idea behind the action group. “You can take to the streets for Extinction Rebellion, or for the farmers. But there is a quiet majority who looks and thinks: we will still have to come out together. You just don’t hear those people now. They watch TV and see the extremes.”
How do they want to do that? “We are building a vision for the future with which the Netherlands is improving, we support constructive parties and initiatives and we reveal anti-democratic tricks,” says the action group.
With that they want to make a fist against the populist wind that has been blowing through the Netherlands for a few years. Simply put, populism is a form of politics in which politicians respond very much to sensitive themes in society. Often it is things that people get angry about, such as expensive messages, house prices or immigration. To win votes, politicians promise gold mountains and think very black and white. Or you are for, or you are an opponent.
The pitfall in populism is that politicians promise a very fast improvement without being able to realize it. The Van Dijkhoff action group wants that now has ended. Certainly since the government fell, he hopes that people will take the opportunity to sail a new course. “An action group that would like to be the leader of the mild majority.”