Overthrow the entire system? Good idea, according to 20 percent of Dutch people

Nearly a third of Dutch people believe that “tough action” against the government is necessary if it “fails to listen again and again.” One in five Dutch people even believe that the entire system could best be “overthrown” because the government “is not functioning”.

This is evident from the Continuous Survey of Citizen Perspectives by the Social and Cultural Planning Office (SCP), a survey that is published several times a year and has been running since 2008. In The Hague it is seen as a thermometer that indicates the mood in the country. For the first time, the survey also included statements about support for tough actions against the government. This shows that 6 percent of Dutch people agree with the statement that the government “deserves to be dealt with harshly (if necessary with violence).” The less trust people have in politics and the less heard they feel, the more they support tough actions against the government.

These are figures that could cause concern, but also require nuance, says SCP researcher Emily Miltenburg. “The fact that so many people support tough actions against the government does not immediately mean that they will take action themselves.”

The willingness to take action is low, according to the SCP, and in an explanation people say that by overthrow they also mean, for example, new elections or a cabinet fall. “We should not underestimate it,” says Miltenburg. “It’s quite a number. But it is striking that people do talk about it within the framework of the democratic constitutional state. We interpret it as a wish for change.”

The researcher also points out that questions about violent demonstrations show that people disapprove of violence. This also applies to disruption of meetings in the House of Representatives, for example.

For years, SCP research has shown a bleak picture of the Netherlands, especially since 2021. After the House of Representatives elections that year, the position-elsewhere memo about Pieter Omtzigt, the debates about it and the longest formation ever, political confidence remained low . This is unusual, because new elections and a new cabinet normally lead to a revival of confidence. But the Dutch saw that the same parties of Rutte III together formed Rutte IV, partly even with the same ministers. Moreover, they felt that crises such as climate, nitrogen, public housing and inflation were piling up, and politics did not offer solutions for them.

researcher SCPEmily Miltenburg People also see politics as a problem

“We have seen the same picture since 2021,” says Miltenburg. “That there is great dissatisfaction with politics and that people think that politicians are not listening.” The election results did not surprise her. “We have been writing for two years that people are not only dissatisfied with politics, they also see politics as a problem.”

Yet Miltenburg does not see the votes for the PVV, which became the largest party, as protest votes. “It is not a vote against, but a vote for a different course.”

Willingness to demonstrate

The SCP also investigated the willingness to demonstrate and views on demonstrations. It turned out that people are more likely to be in favor of a demonstration if the subject is in line with their own views. “There is something of self-interest in it,” says Miltenburg. “If they do not agree with the content, people are more likely to disapprove of demonstrations. We also saw this earlier in studies into freedom of expression: people who thought you should be able to say everything, but just a little more about some groups.”

Most Dutch people, more than 70 percent, say the chance is (very) small that they would take action if a bill were discussed by the House of Representatives that they consider “very unjust or wrong”. Twelve percent are willing to do so, for example by demonstrating or signing a petition.

Whether the election results of November 22 will change the mood in the country and political confidence is uncertain. The SCP investigation ran until August. “The question is which election promises and which fundamental choices will be made by a new cabinet,” says Miltenburg. What she believes could help: “A quick formation and a cabinet with a clear vision of how the problems in the Netherlands can be solved.”

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In gloomy Netherlands there is dissatisfaction and sometimes anger about politics. ‘I do not trust it’

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