Who searches for the word ‘gloomy’ in the latest edition of Citizen perspectives, the social analysis of the Social and Cultural Planning Office (SCP), finds 26 hits. But even without control-f, it is not difficult to notice that the mood in society has never returned to its previous level after the corona crisis. Social discontent creeps and creeps through sports canteens, in living rooms, in talk shows, and most citizens undoubtedly do not need reports or percentages to sense this. NRC recorded the dissatisfaction during the political heyday of Budget Day and General Political Considerations (APB). But, to follow the hard data from the SCP: 56 percent thought at the beginning of this year that things were going in the wrong direction in the Netherlands. The already low confidence in the House of Representatives and the government is now lower than 40 percent. Because the dissatisfaction cannot be separated from the judgment that citizens have about the functioning of democracy. The SCP: “Citizens are concerned about the accumulation of problems and the inability of politicians to solve them.” Please note: the research result after the fall of the fourth Rutte cabinet has yet to be published.
The functioning of the political system makes citizens uncertain and gloomy. Every study shows that trust will not be restored if politicians deceive citizens. It only happens when politicians put actions into their words, when citizens notice that they are really being governed. This has been lacking for years. Citizens see an accumulation of crises (corona, climate, nitrogen, migration, poverty and inflation, Ukraine), are looking for political answers, but find that they are not available on many files. So there is something that precedes the lack of confidence in politics: citizens still look at ‘The Hague’ or ‘politics’, they are just deeply disappointed.
The fall of the cabinet in July does not bode well for the return of confidence in politics. More elections, more arguments, only further stagnation. It was therefore disappointing that the mood in the Netherlands hardly played a role during this week’s APB. An acknowledgment of declining confidence in politics would not have been out of place in the most important political debate of the year. More reflection on one’s own performance would also have been appropriate. The two-day debate was also not about the functioning of the government and the gap that has arisen between citizens and public administration. That was disappointing, and made the debate somewhat anachronistic. It was, as so often in the past, about purchasing power and income groups, about ‘security of existence’, about tax rates for citizens and companies. Very important topics, in themselves. But the theme that concerns citizens according to all research, the functioning of politics and administration, remained out of the picture.
On the other hand: deliveries were made this week, and that is also valuable. The minimum wage and childcare allowance will increase. Higher petrol prices and public transport costs will not occur. It was refreshing to see how quickly parties sought cooperation now that there is no longer a cabinet to take into account. The Christian Union worked together with GroenLinks/PvdA to do something about the minimum wage and regional public transport. Left and right formed all kinds of unusual coalitions and managed to change the budget much more than in previous years. The political situation after the cabinet fall is chaotic. The four coalition parties of the outgoing Rutte IV cabinet (VVD, D66, CDA and Christian Union) are no longer bound to a coalition agreement, and used that space this week to distance themselves from each other and conclude remarkable occasional coalitions. This deserves to be followed, even when there is another cabinet. The House of Representatives showed courage and dualism, and that is also necessary to restore confidence in politics.
Too often the analysis is made, in politics and beyond, that citizens no longer want anything to do with politics. It is often about the ‘dropped out’, the citizens who no longer see the point and have completely turned away from politics and administration. Apart from the rightly great concerns about declining confidence, The Hague should not talk itself into the hole. Indeed: a small group of voters no longer has hope, no longer votes and has turned away from The Hague. But a much larger group is waiting for better times and is looking for politicians who do understand or listen to their concerns. The popularity of Pieter Omtzigt and Caroline van der Plas shows that many dissatisfied citizens continue to look for politicians who bridge the gap. Regardless of their ideas and solutions, that is a hopeful signal.