The political situation in the Netherlands; JA21

Submitted by Michiel (Netherlands), Nov 1, 2022 at 10:43

Here in the Netherlands, one upcoming liberal-conservative party JA21 is touting "the Danish model" as the one to be followed by the Netherlands. They are yet small, but have a decidedly different style, less abrasive, more positive, from the traditional anti-immigration party, the PVV of Geert Wilders. The PVV is a relatively large party, but I don't see them ever becoming mainstream enough to actually influence the immigration policy in a meaningful way.

The ruling VVD party has a long track record of immigration critical rhetoric during election time but completely failing to deliver any results in reality, resulting in immigration records being broken year after year. For some reason they still keep winning elections but they are definitely under pressure.

JA21 is doing well in polls, as are other new parties (like the Citizens and farmers movement which is a new kid on the block but has quite a lot of support from rural areas, where people are leaving the establishment Christian Democrat party, also currently in government) in droves). The next election is a way off still but could result in a sudden shift.

I have some hope for Danish style immigration reform, but I'm also incredibly frustrated at how long it takes and how much the country has already irrevocably changed.

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