Confidence in Dutch Parliament at 10-year low, trust in fellow citizens rises

According to research conducted by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) at the end of 2022, just 25 percent of people aged 15 and above had confidence in the House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer) - the lowest figure since records began in 2012. Meanwhile, the population’s faith in fellow citizens and residents has risen. 

The Netherlands has little faith in politics

For the past 10 years, CBS has surveyed the people of the Netherlands on their overall feelings and confidence in various sectors and government institutions as part of the Social Cohesion and Well-Being Survey. Conducted in the final quarter of 2022, the latest edition of the study found that the country’s trust in politicians and the government has fallen significantly since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Just 25 percent of people over the age of 15 have confidence in Parliament, and only 21 percent have confidence in Dutch politicians. Following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in the spring of 2020, both of these figures peaked at 58 and 44 percent respectively. 

According to CBS, the latest figures show that the people of the Netherlands’ confidence in Parliament has reached a 10-year low, while the country’s trust in politicians has fallen to the lowest level since 2017. Talking to RTL Nieuws, Sabine van Zuydam, a researcher specialising in political-administrative leadership, said this was largely due to the fact that the public didn’t trust politicians to solve key issues such as the housing crisis and rising cost of living.

Confidence in Dutch healthcare system remains high

While the country’s faith in politics has fallen significantly over the past several years, the population’s confidence in fellow people has risen. At the end of 2022, 66 percent of people had trust in other people, compared to 58 percent in 2012. According to CBS, the group with the highest level of trust is those who attended university (89 percent), compared to just 40 percent of those who only completed primary education. 

Following the coronavirus pandemic, CBS found that the nation’s confidence in civil servants, large corporations, and government and political institutions has once again fallen - although trust in the Dutch healthcare system remains high at 78 percent. 

Faith in the police (77 percent), judicial system (76 percent) and the army (64 percent) are also fairly high, with CBS noting that confidence in these groups has actually increased slightly since 2012. Meanwhile, just 48 percent of the population trust the European Union and Dutch banks, 40 percent trust the press, and 30 percent trust churches.

Thumb: Jeroen Meuwsen Fotografie via Shutterstock.com.