Wijchers, on the other hand, would like to cast his vote, but due to the crowds in his own cotton candy shop in Wellington, he was unable to meet the registration deadline. “If I’m going to vote, I want to be able to delve deeply into it. I’m not just going to vote for something. But due to the busy period, it was all too difficult for me.” Just like Snippe, Wijchers also sees that there is a high voting threshold for voters abroad. He shares the opinion that the system is not accessible enough.
As an original foreign student who is part of the so-called ‘unlucky generation’ – that is, students who fall under the loan system – Wijchers thinks it is very important to vote. “Yes, I believe that I can certainly do something with my voice, even though I don’t live in the Netherlands. The events surrounding the scholarship also affect me. That really needs to be properly arranged in the coming years.”
New Dordrecht Snippe does not vote, but nevertheless he thinks it is important to maintain ties with the Netherlands and politics. He has taken out a special television subscription for this purpose. “I watch Dutch television every evening. Op1, Today Inside, Beau. I follow it all. This way you stay informed of everything that is going on. On Saturdays I always listen to Cassata with Margriet (Benak, ed.) on RTV Drenthe. If I’m completely honest, I find it more interesting what’s happening in Drenthe,” he says.
It is not only the voting system that Snippe dislikes, he also does not like the large number of parties and their election manifestos focused on certain themes. “You have so many parties, but not a single party takes Dutch people abroad into account. Or perhaps only Volt, that party is concerned with European policy. That is the only party I could vote for and then notice something about it.” .”
He therefore says he finds it difficult to arrange something in the field of healthcare, for example. “You sometimes feel unheard, also by the Dutch embassy.”
On the other side of the world, Wijchers states that in his case it will be a matter of choosing or sharing. “Am I going to spend time voting, or do I put that time into my business? I’ve been asking myself that question quite a lot lately. I think that your vote should be a carefully considered decision, you should take it seriously. In Orientation takes a lot of time. I now prefer to spend the time I have on my business.”
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