It may not be pretty, but it is true: I used to want to imitate a complaining compatriot whom I had heard on television against ‘the high gentlemen in The Hague’. Those plush patchers were pickpockets that were of no use to you. All one pot wet. If one party was punished by the voter, the other good-for-nothing in C&A suit took its place. After his tirade, the angry citizen climbed into his fat BMW, let the engine growl and tore away with squealing tires. Wonderful TV.
It was in those days that too The Holiday Man by Frits Bom appeared on the tube. I remember a scene where a man pointed to a tower block on the Costa del Sol: ‘I had booked a room there’ (meaningful silence) ‘…but I ended up there.’ The camera pans to an identical flat. The man’s face shows little emotion. Fortunately, the awake reporter knows: ‘But you do feel cheated, then?’ ‘Yes. I feel absolutely cheated.’ The Dutch always have something to complain about. Sometimes after a little push.
Those types who were so blatant about the pickpockets in The Hague were funny, but also a bit wrong. Scary populists. As if – to quote Ronald de Boer – you can lump all politicians together. At least they are committed to the public good, work ridiculously long hours and are hardly commended for that. A dog track. Why would you want it? Criticism of a party or a politician is fine, but of politics is out of the question. Then support another party! Speak up and vote differently next time if you want change. If you burn the whole mess down, the end of democracy is near. Keep your faith in our order and support it too. That’s how I was raised.
Now I detect cracks in that upbringing and that is unpleasant. A good friend has the same. He suddenly feels aversion to politics. From the games in The Hague. From the weak performance, the syrupy, appointing coordinators and committees. What does Hoekstra do? And that Ruth? And that De Jonge? Why are we lagging behind again when it comes to sanctions against the Russians? Why have these children not yet been reunited with their parents after the allowance affair? Why so secretive about the face mask deal with Sywert? We are pretty much done with this new management culture.
Pim Fortuyn (go die beautiful series see, people) wrote about The Ruins of Purple† Rutte’s ruins are much bigger. A political culture has emerged that only revolves around power and imagery. The whole political culture is rotten. The real rot arose when Rutte did not resign after the position elsewhere debate. The fact that he stayed put and eventually even teamed up with his opponents Kaag (‘This is where our ways part’) and Segers (‘Something snapped’) has destroyed a lot of confidence.
Am I contributing to an anti-democratic vote by denouncing the slackers who now run our country? I hope not. That’s not my intention. Let’s hope we can turn the tide before a really creepy populist mobilizes the disaffected masses.