The Netherlands is a country of winners, not really of course, we like to follow the winner in the hope that some of the shine will drip onto us, which of course is not the case. Why is Ajax the football club with the most fans? Because they have won the most European Cups and national titles, but now under Johnny Heitinga the Lemmings can easily follow Peter Bosz or Robin van Persie in the polonaise. Why are ‘interpreters’ so eager to join us? Today Inside? For the same reason that the coterie around Matthijs van Nieuwkerk was always available on call to discuss the day from a bar stool at the DWDD. If you want to get a tan, you have to sit in the sun. But make sure you moisturize yourself well.
Unfortunately, it is exactly the same in politics. We are not suffering from eel populism here, but from poll populism. The previous, disastrous, cabinet of PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB was forged by Maurice de Hond in the last weeks before the previous elections and now Peter Kanne is polling Rob Jetten for Prime Minister on behalf of Ipsos I&O. The elections are no longer about ideas, but about how the Dutch relate to the figurehead. If they put a gun to my chest and force me to list the differences between the middle parties, I will probably not get much further than the ten new cities of D66, an idea that I am enthusiastic about, but it is a pity that none of the parties want to reclaim the Markerwaard because that is what I am also in favor of.
Now Peter Kanne is sounding out Rob Jetten for Prime Minister on behalf of Ipsos I&O
I wrote this piece for last night’s big RTL debate, but I can already dread the people’s opinion. What should I do with figures like 64 percent of those asked? EenToday thinks Rob Jetten is the winner. And Frans Timmermans was the loser with 36 percent. It adds nothing, except that an even larger group of doubters follows the sentiment. Driven by the polls and research into the deeper motivations of the electorate, Dilan Yesilgöz starts to whack around and now she does not want to govern with GroenLinks-PvdA and makes Rob Jetten one horse race from saying that they now have proven success and want to become the biggest.
“It is possible.”
It is indeed possible, especially if media attention is directed in the right direction by polls. It is of course not without reason that in other countries polls are banned shortly before elections, so that voters have to make their own decision, a task that should not be underestimated, but also not so difficult that they need to be helped in the right direction with research into the opinions and favorite issues of their fellow countrymen.
Marcel van Roosmalen writes a column on Mondays and Thursdays.
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