Rob Jetten can be proud of himself. Not only did he rise with his party 1 seat in the most recent poll by Maurice de Hond, he is also seen as a true bridge builder. It is reminiscent of 2012. Then Mark Rutte and Diederik Samson tried to glue polarized Netherlands by presenting a coalition agreement under the name “Slamming Bridges”.
According to Maurice de Hond, the “new pillar” underlies the intensity and the polarization of the current political discussions within society. For example, 80 percent of the electorate of D66, GroenLinks, PvdA and PvdD (the former party of Paul Cliteur) would never consider voting for FVD or PVV.
The other way around is practically the same story. FVD and PVV voters are also extremely skeptical about parties such as D66 and GroenLinks. If we then have to make a comparison: CDA and VVD are mentioned less often in this issue by FVD voters than by the supporters of the PVV. And that is of course significant.
Maurice de Hond compares the “new pillar” with the rivalry between Amsterdam and Rotterdam:
“We see it happening on most of the important political issues of the moment. In addition, it is evident that the members of the various new columns do not seem to realize that they are part of that new column and have little or no respect for members of the other column (s). A phenomenon that I have been comparing for some time with the way in which Ajax and Feyenoord supporters see each other and interact with each other. ”
According to De Hond, the “new pillar” can also be measured in a different way. 70 percent of the respondents say they vote for the same party as their partner. The remaining thirty percent votes for another party, but remains close to the political swing of his or her lover.
Especially among voters of the PVV (85%), 50PLUS (83%), SP (79%) and VVD (81%), there seems to be consensus in terms of political choice within the relationship. Among voters from the other parties, the “new pillar” – so political division – can be felt much stronger.
The following must be stated: The DENK party is not included in Maurice de Hond’s research because of “Not having a representative sample of possible DENK voters”.
