Almost half of Dutch regional politicians have experienced aggression or violence. That concludes research bureau I&O Research, which, at the request of the Ministry of the Interior, conducted a poll among more than three thousand regional politicians. The increase since 2014 is significant: then just under a quarter of regional politicians stated that they had experienced aggression or violence. This ‘Monitor Integrity and Security’ is published every two years.
The decentralized administrators – such as mayors, aldermen, councilors, commissioners of the King or dike-graves – most often have to deal with verbal aggression (45 percent), such as name calling or discriminatory remarks. This can be in person as well as online. In addition, some of the politicians experience threats and intimidation (about 25 percent) or physical violence (3 percent).
In the past two years in particular, the increase in this kind of behavior against regional politicians is said to have been significant; in 2016, for example, slightly more than a quarter of drivers had to deal with verbal aggression. The corona pandemic and the measures against it, which provoked a lot of resistance among some, may play a role here. Politicians most often stated that they were intimidated, threatened or treated unfairly because of “displeasure with a particular situation or organization” or because of the high emotions of the alleged perpetrators.
Declaration
At the same time, the reporting rate of violence and aggression among regional politicians has decreased. In 2014 this was still 13 percent, in 2022 it was 7 percent. A quarter of the directors who had to deal with such behavior say that they have adjusted their own behavior on social media. For example, they share fewer messages on social media platforms or watch them less at all.
The report does not give examples of violence or aggression against politicians, but several local and regional incidents have made it to the media in recent years. For example, the mayors of Rotterdam and Amsterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb (PvdA) and Femke Halsema (GroenLinks) were threatened by hooligans from Feyenoord and Ajax respectively. Halsema filed a report, and the police opened an investigation in Rotterdam.
Even in smaller municipalities, politicians may have to deal with aggression and threats. For example, Breunis van de Weerd (SGP), former mayor of the Gelderland town of Nunspeet, warned in NRC for the effects of subversive crime on local politics after his own mailbox was blown up. Van de Weerd: „We also have all the crime that occurs in Amsterdam here. Maybe less often, maybe less intense, maybe less visible. But it is there.”
Also read this opinion piece: Since when are threats against politicians normal?