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The Dutch rely on the continuity and skills of the pragmatic head of government as a crisis manager. One vote for liberals on the right and left.
Mark Rutte has found the elixir of power. The Dutch value their pragmatic prime minister with the modest habitus. In the parliamentary elections, which were extended to three days for the first time due to special circumstances, they once again placed their trust in him and crowned his right-wing liberal party for freedom and democracy the winner, for the fourth time in a row.
A fourth consecutive term, also in a changing constellation, is very rare in a democracy, and Rutte follows the example of Angela Merkel or Benjamin Netanyahu. By the way, the fact that more than 80 percent of the Dutch voted for their representatives is a strong sign of a vital democracy that has put the crown crisis to a test of resistance.
Not everything worked out in Dutch crown politics. But who can say that in the face of the crisis of the century? A health system that was saved altogether, an initially erratic approach in the fight against the pandemic, a vaccination program implemented too late: Rutte passed the responsibility to his minister of health, just when the blame for the scandal of child allowance it fell to his former Social Democratic minister for social affairs in January. The prime minister has the ability to emerge unscathed from such matters, which speaks to his popularity.
The election was a vote for liberals, both right and left in the coalition. In Sigrid Kaag, leader of the D’66 party and second winner of the elections, Rutte is increasing the competition. The former polyglot diplomat shines like a new fixed star in the sky, while others have burned out, most notably right-wing populist Geert Wilders. Right-wing populism does not end there. The younger demagogues have taken the stage. However, they have nothing to do with the government. That is the consensus in the country, and that is why this election is also a sign of encouragement for Europe.
