In our province, nineteen parties are taking part in the provincial elections this time, a record. Although there are many, Aarts is not surprised. “Decades ago there were also many parties.” Throughout the Netherlands – and therefore also in Drenthe – the traditional large parties are no longer so large. “No party is dominating now,” he says. “You see in all kinds of provinces that the boards of the Provincial Executive are usually very broad. You can’t form a narrow board in Drenthe either.”
The Provincial Executive in Drenthe is currently still formed by a broad coalition of PvdA, VVD, CDA, ChristenUnie and GroenLinks. Each party provided one deputy. Professor Aarts considers this exemplary for provincial politics. “I think that provincial politics is not conducted on the cutting edge,” he says. “Very broad lectures also do not help to make that politically understandable. For the voter, you would rather see the Provincial Executive follow a certain course, offering the Provincial Council somewhat sharper choices.”
Colleges therefore often do not have a sharp, political profile, says Aarts. As a result, provincial politics is generally not very popular among the population. “We would like everyone to vote and become involved in politics. Opinions suddenly emerge around election time, but then things calm down again. That doesn’t help.” He means that parties profile themselves very strongly around the elections, and then may not be able to deliver much during the government’s term of office.
According to Aarts, the Provincial Council elections are mainly a ‘vehicle’ for voters to make clear what they think of The Hague. “You also see, for example, that the national media focuses very much on national party leaders. That is somewhat unfortunate for the position of the provincial elections. Although that has never been different.”
(Text continues below the photo)