“This mainly means that for most people the speech is not an issue that they are concerned about,” explains RTL opinion pollster Gijs Rademaker. “A large majority does not watch the speech and does not care much about it. Only a third thinks that such a speech is unnecessary and should be abolished.”
21 percent do not want to abolish the speech, but do think that the way in which the king delivers his Christmas speech is outdated and could be better adapted. “If the king were to consider that, there is a chance that his speech would become more relevant for certain groups of people,” says Rademaker. “Think of young people, for example.” A third (33 percent) believe that the Christmas speech is a tradition that should be preserved in this form.
There is more appreciation for speeches at times when something is going on in society. Half (51 percent) attach a fair amount or a lot of value to such a speech. Think of the speeches after MH17 or during the corona crisis.
Abolish monarchy
There is generally little appreciation for the Christmas speech, but as far as just over half of the Dutch are concerned, the monarchy does not need to disappear. 55 percent want the Netherlands to remain a monarchy. Older age groups are more likely to want the monarchy to remain than younger age groups. Of young people aged 18 to 25, 41 percent want to preserve the monarchy, and among those over 66 this is 64 percent.
Reasons for retaining the royal family range from ‘the royal family is tradition’ to ‘the royal family provides stability’. One of the participants says: “Looking at the current political climate, I hate to think about electing a president.”
A quarter (23 percent) of Dutch people would prefer a republic. The remaining people have no preference. Proponents of a republic argue that a president is elected instead of born, the monarchy costs (too) much money and that a monarchy is outdated.
Content speech
The content of the king’s Christmas speech this year is not yet known, but most people hope that he will discuss themes such as poverty, social security and the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
Accountability
The survey was conducted from December 18 to 20, 2023 among approximately 20,000 members of the RTL News Panel. After weighting, the study is representative of five variables, namely: age, gender, education, employment and political preference. The RTL News Panel has more than 42,000 members. Would you also like to participate? Then register here.
2023-12-25 05:49:17
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