Worthy Christian News > World News > Netherlands Holding Elections Overshadowed By Pandemic Tensions

(Worthy News) – The Netherlands faces the first significant test of a European Union government’s COVID-19 policies this year. This week the nation is holding parliamentary elections amid one of the strictest lockdown measures in Europe.

The country’s liberal prime minister is due to be re-elected, despite mounting public discontent over the impact his coronavirus policies have on the Dutch economy.

Among those expressing anger were sex workers who headed to Parliament and the prime minister’s office to state their case. They’re furious that they’ve had to close up shop because of lockdown restrictions.

They brought along a peepshow-on-wheels saying there was a “need” to bring back liberal attitudes towards sex-for-sale in the Netherlands.
Not everyone agrees. The Christian SGP party wants to make prostitution illegal.

Sex workers aren’t the only ones protesting about the coronavirus restrictions. People from all walks of life have joined protests around the country. In January, the Netherlands experienced its worst riots in decades following the introduction of a curfew.

But according to opinion polls, Prime Minister Mark Rutte remains popular. And some analysts believe the government’s handling of the pandemic has reinforced support for him and his liberal People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, or VVD.

LEADING COALITION

The party leads a four-party coalition, and 54-year-old Rutte is one of the EU’s longest-serving leaders.

Critics call him the “Teflon” premier for emerging unscathed from crises over more than a decade in office. Rutte has tried to play down the fact that he was forced to resign in January over a child benefits scandal. Thousands of parents were falsely accused of scamming childcare allowances, often with a racial bias. It led to a painful confrontation between a parent and Rutte on national television.

“Why you think you can remain in your prime ministerial seat as the main responsible man for the benefits scandal?” a mother asked him. Rutte appeared visibly uncomfortable. “Wow, it is exceptional that we are standing in front of each other here. We met each other three weeks ago, and we spoke with a small group about the scandal. The last thing I will do tonight is to ask you to trust politics or trust me as the boss in the political arena,” he said, looking straight into her face.

“But what I want to say is that of course, I asked myself as well: ‘Can I continue?’. I was thinking about this as this scandal is a huge shameful episode. But I also saw that many things went very well over the last ten years and I am very proud of those achievements. And that is why I decided to continue. That is my honest answer to your question,” he added.

Since then, Rutte’s government has stayed on in a caretaker capacity.

“FREEDOM CARAVAN”

One party desperately trying to win votes is the nationalist Forum for Democracy Party. Its founder and leader is author Thiery Baudet. He crosses the country with what he calls a “freedom caravan.”

Critics call it the “conspiracy caravan” as the party’s members refuse to be vaccinated against coronavirus and want to reopen the country immediately. They view COVID-19 as nothing more than severe flu.

Baudet told a gathering in the city of Groningen that his party is the only one fighting for freedom in the Netherlands. “We don’t believe in the seriousness of the pandemic. Coronavirus exists, but it is much less serious than they want us to believe for more than a year now. Leave your self-imposed prison start to live,” he said.

“If you drive, you can get into a car accident. The chance that a healthy person below 70 years dies of the corona is four times less than the chance that you die of a car accident.”

Baudet enrolled the support of a rapper called Duncan to sing about freedom and prime minister Rutte’s failings. But it hasn’t helped much. His party has suffered in the polls after several prominent politicians left amid allegations of antisemitism and racism – charges Baudet vehemently denies.

NIGHTTIME CURFEW

Yet, his calls for more freedom have had some effect. Prime Minister  Rutte has announced that the nighttime curfew will be relaxed for the election. Voting was spread over three days from Monday till Wednesday. “The most important thing is that we continue the restrictions, including the night curfew, which will continue through Wednesday morning, March 31,”.

“But it will be relaxed on March 15, 16, and 17. A night curfew can not stand in the way of free elections. These exceptions are only for the elections. For instance, it is not allowed to go with friends to the Amsterdam city park De Vondelpark,” he added.

If Rutte wins, it’s likely he’ll have to put together a new wide-ranging coalition. The Green-Left party says it’s prepared to join the tough coalition talks.

But whatever the color of his coalition, friends – as well as foes – expect Mark Rutte to continue leading the Netherlands through these turbulent times.