The Hague Center for Strategic Studies (HCSS) defines hardened manners as one of the most important threats to the rule of law. “Emotions in politics and communication between parties are becoming increasingly polarised,” says HCSS strategy analyst Linde Arentze on the BNR De Strateeg podcast. “If you don’t take action or if there’s no change in palates, bigger problems will arise.”
Former Member of Parliament Kees Verhoeven also notes that the tone of the debates has changed considerably in recent years. ‘Jan Marijnissen of the PS once said ‘quickly dim’ to the Speaker of the House of Representatives which caused confusion for days. Some time later, Rutte and Wilders had one fictitious: ‘act normal, act normal too’, all the hoopla. Nowadays MPs tell each other things like ‘I’m going after you, there will be courts’ and they use certain bad words which are very humiliating, intimidating and sometimes even threatening.’
According to Verhoeven, the Speaker of the House has an important role to play in the fight against this tightening. “You see that a Speaker of the Chamber is increasingly faced with complicated situations in which words that may have a certain constitutional value are used, such as the courts. Then, as Speaker of the Chamber, you have to express an opinion within ten seconds, while it takes much longer to do so.’
Listen to the complete episode of De Strateeg here