However, Azarkan believes it is not entirely justified that Dutch confidence in politics is so low. ‘We work very hard. But people often see the clichés and the clashes and not that we spend ten hours dealing with the law. Hardly anyone sees it,’ says the THINK leader. “That’s why I get it.”
“It’s not entirely justified because we work very hard, but hardly anyone sees it”
Bull of the Hague
According to political journalist Leendert Beekman, politicians are also often criticized for being “too busy with themselves”. According to Beekman, this is also evident from the “bad report ratings”. To raise that figure and regain confidence, politicians need to show more decisiveness and demonstrate that they can solve problems, says the political journalist.
BBB frontwoman Caroline van der Plas also agrees that politicians need to do more to solve citizens’ problems. “Something that seems like a small pain to us is a big pain for some citizens. This gives people the feeling that they have to fight against the powerful government.” According to Van der Plas it is therefore important not to remain too much on the bubble in The Hague.
crisis
Meanwhile, the political problems the Hague is currently facing are piling up, Beekman notes. ‘There are many crises. Think nitrogen issues, housing issue, climate and asylum discussion is again imminent. For many of these problems there is still no solution and offering indications for a possible solution is often still a long way off,’ according to the political journalist.
‘Trust in politics in The Hague is historically low’
However, the confidence of the Dutch population in politics has not been consistently at such a low level. Confidence has increased slightly during the corona pandemic. Furthermore, trust in other human beings has increased and trust in institutions such as judges, police and health care has also reached a higher level. And most people still have faith in the city council, who are figures of hope, according to Beekman. “But trust in politics in The Hague is historically low.”