The attack on FVD leader Thierry Baudet this week in a Groningen café qualifies as a political attack. Even if we still know little about the suspect’s precise motives and background. It is also the second in a short time against him personally, given the hard blow he previously received in Ghent from a Ukrainian refugee. A political motive is more likely there.
The Groningen incident is an attack on democracy – and not just on Baudet. But actually on all candidates who have campaigned freely in the media, on the streets and in public places until today. That means facing the voter, saying what you stand for, hearing what is going on and then moving on, to the next village square, café or theater hall. Without fear for life and limb. Exactly what many candidates were doing that day.
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Maybe someone will get angry or a citizen will take the opportunity to spew his bile. After all, there was a lot of dissatisfaction on the agenda for these elections. But citizens are usually able to accept differences and accept the outcome. In a democracy that is valuable public capital.
Today too, voters will be happy and disappointed – but that should not undermine the ability to live together peacefully. In a democracy, waiting for the next elections is the basic attitude. Candidates, in turn, are expected to be able to take a lot. Just no blows.
The blow in the Groningen café also opens an old wound. The murder of candidate Pim Fortuyn by animal activist Volkert van der G. in May 2002 hit like a bombshell. It made it clear that extreme violence was possible in Dutch politics. Two months earlier, animal activists threw a ‘pie’ filled with chicken manure in Fortuyn’s face. The democratic standard ‘stay away from politicians’ was already broken at the time, with fatal consequences. The Netherlands has never recovered from the shock and horror of Fortuyn’s murder – it is a public trauma.
The question is whether the young man in the Groningen café, born in 2008, realized what he was doing and against what background. There is juvenile criminal law for adolescents that takes into account development, immature brains and rash actions. In other words: at that age people learn to think. The criminal judge will know what to do with it.
It is also a fact that the opinion climate is harsher and public interactions are rougher. The police now have a ‘team of threatened politicians’ that received 1,125 reports of threats and incitement last year. In addition to being a breeding ground for incitement, social media has also proven to be a source of deception and self-deception. Citizens tell each other all kinds of things and attribute absurd motives and far-reaching plans to politicians. This poses a real danger to their safety. In that sense, times have changed – and not for the better. Manners are also regularly violated in the House itself. This hardening is equally regrettable.
In any case, violence against an MP who is fighting for re-election is unacceptable. Spontaneous contact with the public must remain possible for candidate politicians. After thirteen years in power, outgoing VVD leader Rutte is also still campaigning on the streets and being addressed there. That takes courage, unfortunately.