The Sinterklaas flags flutter exuberantly in Hellevoetsluis. At the De Struytse Hoeck shopping center, a group with CDA scarves is expectantly lined up at the Hema. “So he is not here as a minister, hey,” a man instructs, “but purely to support our campaign.”
Hellevoetsluis, Brielle and Westvoorne are going to merge into Voorne aan Zee, so the inhabitants will go to the polls this Wednesday. At least, 38 percent do. A poor turnout, despite the appearance of all kinds of national leaders: Attje Kuiken, Wybren van Haga, Thierry Baudet…
And there is Wopke Hoekstra. Stubble beard, tousled hair. In his quilted jacket he towers above all those present. Relaxed walk, hands in pockets. Yesterday he had a work meeting in a palace in Lisbon, now he is handing out flyers between the Xenos and the Kruidvat.
“I don’t vote for criminals,” one passer-by snaps at him, but most of them have a chat. Like a young man who does something with crypto software and doesn’t know who to vote for. “All those parties… there is not one that really suits me.”
While so many local parties are participating here: Residents’ Interest Voorne (which will be the winner, 11 seats), Party Voorne aan Zee (3), ONS Brielle (2), Vrij Voorne (1). Plus the newcomers on the right: BVNL (2) and Forum (1).
If Voorne is our foreland, that promises something. Voters want a party fighting exactly their tiny fraction interest, so all those splinters cast their particular bait. One stands up for the farmers, the other wants to undo the merger. They want to get rid of windmills and asylum seekers’ centers, they want to keep facilities in Den Briel…
Voting tends more towards self-expression of your most individual identity than trusting a member of parliament of a particular mindset to cooperate and compromise on your behalf. Of the national parties, the CDA finished at the bottom (3), after GroenLinks/PvdA (4) and VVD (6).
Hoekstra responds quickly and amusedly to this floating voter: “Sure, you will never find a party that has exactly all your points of view. But it sounds like you have some good ideas. Don’t want to go into politics yourself? Would be super nice if you would talk to Wilbert here sometime…”
Indeed: talk locally. But what do national leaders come here to do anyway? Turnout is no higher.
And the campaign continues. On to the next mall. “We changed the route a bit there,” says council member Klaas Kamphuis. “On Election Day, we are not allowed to get too close to polling stations. We try to avoid the ballot boxes.”
62 percent of the residents succeeded in doing so.
Christian Weijts writes a column here every Friday.
A version of this article also appeared in the newspaper of November 25, 2022