Climate demonstrators in Drenthe can count on less support than protesting farmers. This is evident from research by Kieskompas. A quarter of Drenthe respondents support the actions of climate demonstrators, while farmers can count on support from almost half of the respondents.
According to Extinction Rebellion, the organization is not looking for the popularity prize and is instead drawing attention to the problem. “Our actions have put more attention on the climate and ecological crisis than ever and the subject of fossil subsidies is full on the political agenda.”
Jos Ubels of Farmers Defense Force does not think it is surprising that farmers receive more support from Drenthe respondents than is the case nationally. “In Drenthe, a lot is managed by farmers, which means there is more support for the agricultural sector.”
Ubels is of the opinion that the farmer would of course prefer to drive the tractor in the field rather than on the highway, but that as a farmer you sometimes have no other choice. “If you are structurally ignored, then sometimes you have to take action.”
Both farmers and climate protesters have blocked highways recently. Yet climate demonstrators can also count on little sympathy for their actions here. Six percent of respondents in Drenthe say they fully or largely support these actions. Farmers who block highways can count on more support: 29 percent of respondents say they support them.
“People often think we are strange, who is going to block a highway,” says Extinction Rebellion Drenthe in a written response. The organization regrets that there is ‘apparently little support’ for the climate group’s actions, precisely because its members stand up ‘for the common interests and those of our children and grandchildren’. “We are there because we are terribly worried about where the world is going, we are destroying the earth.”
There is virtually no support for farmers who dump waste on highways and burn asbestos in protest. Such actions can hardly count on support, both in Drenthe and nationally. Two-thirds of respondents believe that farmers who commit arson on the highway or dump asbestos should be brought to justice immediately. Nationally, that is three-quarters.
According to Agractie, there is more connection with the problems of the farmers than with the climate. “Farmers are interwoven in rural society and people from the city also regularly have farming roots or people from the agricultural sector in their area. This creates a greater connection with the problems among farmers. Effects of the policy are immediately seen and experienced. Climate is free abstract. As a small country, we have little influence on it. That could explain why farmers’ actions have broad support.”
Although the research shows that half of the Drenthe respondents have less sympathy for the protests due to the harsh language of the farmers, it does not feel to Ubels as if the farmers can count on less support than before. He thinks that politics contributes to more sympathy for the farmers. “Just look at the voting behavior of the people who vote for PVV and BBB, parties that are in favor of change. The Dutch do not want farmers to die.”
When you look at national figures, you indeed see many PVV, FVD and BBB voters sympathize with the farmers’ protests. Three-quarters or more of them support the protests at town halls. 33 percent of FVD voters support farmers who burn asbestos as an expression of protest. Five percent of respondents who voted for the PVV or BBB also support this.