D66 wants voters in the polling station not only to be allowed to vote, but also to be able to donate money to a party. In this way local democracy can be strengthened.
D66 MP Joost Sneller is making this proposal today in the House of Representatives. As far as he is concerned, it concerns an amount between 5 and 10 euros, which comes from the budget of the Interior.
Faster: ,,The involvement of citizens in democracy is thus increased. Even people who normally have no money for a donation can now make a donation. I call it the democratic donation credit. Everyone will then receive a voucher with an amount. Then a gift is no longer exclusively reserved for large lenders or people who can easily miss it.
‘Stricter rules for large lenders’
In the Netherlands, local parties do not receive subsidies at the moment. This sometimes forces local parties to embrace large lenders who do not forget their own interests. ,,See what is happening in the municipality of The Hague,” says Sneller.
He refers to the corruption case against former alderman Richard de Mos, who, according to the Public Prosecution Service, would have received 113,000 euros in suspicious donations. Faster: ,,If this works, you can also impose much stricter rules against large lenders. And the dependence on the major donors is reduced. The financing of political parties in the city council will then lie with the residents themselves.
Minister Hanke Bruins Slot is not unsympathetic to subsidies to local parties, but simply says he does not have the money for it yet. In the last municipal elections, 6.6 million Dutch people went to the polls. If they are all allowed to give a tenner, the donation credit will cost 66 million euros.
‘Annual donations’
D66’er Sneller first wants to experiment on a small scale in a number of different types of municipalities. If the experiments are successful, the system should be introduced nationally, he thinks. Faster than provides for a system in which residents can make the donation annually via their tax form. “So every year a ‘voucher’ that people can give to a party. It keeps people engaged in between elections. And parties can subtly see how they are valued in between elections.”
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