Maybe it’s all the stroopwafel, but the Dutch seem like a happy bunch. It could be the fact that the Dutch live a long life, or maybe it’s the healthy sex drive — whatever the cause may be, the Netherlands has been ranked the fifth happiest country in the world!
At least that’s where it stands according to the World Happiness Report 2021 who teamed up with Gallup to perform a worldwide survey. They asked people in 149 countries to rate their happiness. Finland pinched top place, for the fourth time running, followed by Denmark, Iceland, and Switzerland respectively.
How was it measured?
No, it wasn’t based on how much haring is consumed, otherwise, we know we would come out on top. The World Happiness Report based its rankings on things such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the population’s access to social support, individual freedoms, and the public’s perception of corruption.
Impact of coronavirus
Unsurprisingly, the wake of the coronavirus pandemic has affected the results of the report. Gallup says that the report “sheds considerable light on the effect that the pandemic had on people’s subjective wellbeing and on humanity as a whole.”
Despite the stress brought on by a global pandemic, figures show that some nations are experiencing less anxiety. The report shows that the Netherlands, as well as France and Denmark, shows a decrease in the percentage of people experiencing anxiety since Spring 2020. The increased use of cannabis during lockdown probably explains why the Dutch are more mellow. 😉
The top 10 happiest countries
Want to see who our competition is? Here are the top ten happiest countries according to the report:
1. Finland
2. Denmark
3. Iceland
4. Switzerland
5. the Netherlands
6. Sweden
7. Germany
8. Norway
9. New Zealand
10. Austria
Which countries did expect to see on the list? Let us know in the comments!
If you moved to the Netherlands with just a suitcase and a dream of owning a classic Dutch home precariously perched on the canal, bad news: Dutch house prices are continuing to skyrocket.
We wish we were exaggerating, but that stats don’t lie: on average, an owner-occupied home bought in February last year was 10.4% more expensive just 12 months later.
If you’re not one for percentages, let’s put that into perspective: if a home was €300,000 in February 2020, that exact same home now costs over €330,000, based on last month’s figures. Um, ouch.
The jump is the highest rise in almost 20 years, according to numbers from the CBS and Land Registry. Housing prices last decreased eight years ago, with a steady upward trend since 2013.
Wait — the housing market was meant to dip during corona, right?
It’s true that at the start of the pandemic there were thoughts that the Dutch housing market could drop, resulting in more affordable housing for those in the market.
However, one year on and this is not the case — and isn’t likely to be anytime soon. In fact, the pandemic may have caused a rise in housing prices, CBS chief economist Peter Hein van Mulligen told ANP. It turns out that people have a lot more money jangling in their pockets when they can’t go on holiday or out to dinner.
To add fuel to the fire, mortgage interest rates remain low and the Dutch housing crisis continues. This is resulting in bidding wars for the few houses that are for sale, forcing starters (young adults who haven’t owned a house before) out of the market.
Are you trying to buy a house? Tell us your experience in the comments below!
Two weeks ago, Prime Minister, Mark Rutte and Minister for Health, Hugo De Jonge, announced in a press conference that they hoped to relax coronavirus measures by the beginning of April. Sources from The Hague are now claiming this will not happen.
Ministers met today at the Catshuis to discuss whether or not coronavirus measures should be relaxed. Rutte and De Jonge had previously hoped terraces may open up once again and students may return to lectures on a part-time basis. However, these relaxations will not go ahead, sources from The Hague are claiming.
According to the sources, the cabinet believes that coronavirus infections in the Netherlands are not reducing enough to justify the further relaxation of the current measures, the NOS reports.
As of 10AM this morning, the RIVM reported more than 7,000 coronavirus infections across the Netherlands in the past 24 hours.
No relaxation but also no tightening
Recently, the Outbreak Management Team (OMT) voiced concern over the Prime Minister’s hopes to relax measures. Rutte has previously listened to the OMT’s advice.
On Tuesday, the cabinet will consult with the Ministerial Committee for COVID-19 (MCC) before giving a press conference.
However, according to the sources, while the current measures — including the curfew — will remain, it is expected that there will also be no further tightening of coronavirus restrictions.
What are your thoughts on the relaxation of measures after March 31? Tell us in the comments below!
After a year of multiple lockdowns in the Netherlands, the feeling of being at a large music festival or a dance party seems almost impossible to recollect. However, we may be able to enjoy some fun outings once again.
Organizers of events such as concerts, festivals, sports competitions, and congresses can start planning their events for after July 1, according to an announcement made by the outgoing cabinet.
The decision was encouraged by the positive results the Netherlands has had with trial festivals and football matches over the course of this spring, reports the NOS.
Subsidy in case of cancellations
The cancellations of 2020 took a toll on various businesses — events organizers included. However, if the events planned after July 1 have to be cancelled again due to coronavirus restrictions, the organizers are to receive 80% of the costs back as a subsidy from the government.
The remaining 20% would be paid out as a loan. The Dutch government has set aside 385 million euros for this purpose and the scheme will apply for events until December 31, 2021.
More freedom
“Not only the organizers, but also the public yearn for a concert, a festival, or a football match. Hopefully, we can all enjoy these again in the summer,” said the outgoing State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, Mona Keijzer.
While the cabinet expects that more relaxations will be possible in the summer, the situation still remains uncertain. For now, the assumption is that everyone above the age of 18 will have gotten their first vaccine jab by July.
How do you feel about the good news? What type of events have you been missing the most? Let us know in the comments below!
Dreaming of a getaway this summer? (We are!) A new plan could mean that those vaccinated against, recovered from, or tested negative for coronavirus could get the green light to explore.
The EU Commission yesterday presented their plans for a travel certificate that will be valid in all EU countries. The commission hopes that with these certificates, people within the EU will be able to travel this summer.
With the Digital Green Certificate, anyone within the EU who can prove that they are not at risk of spreading coronavirus may travel to a different EU country.
How can you get a green digital certificate?
According to the EU Commission, there are three ways that a person may receive a Digital Green Certificate.
1. Vaccination
If a person has been vaccinated with a vaccine that has been approved by the European Medical Agency (EMA), they will be eligible for the certificate.
2. Immunity
This is also the case if you have had coronavirus within the past six months as your body has likely built up immunity. However, you need to supply proof that you had the virus and that you are now fully recovered.
3. Negative test
The third way to obtain the green light for travel is by testing negative for coronavirus. The Commission has not yet been established how old a test result should be.
How does the digital green certificate work?
Once a person has proven that they are not at risk of spreading the virus, they can receive the digital green certificate. The certificate will be available on an EU-wide app however, people may also choose to print out their certificates.
The app will use a QR code. Image: European Commission Digital Green Certificate Fact Sheet.
The app will display a QR-code that will be used to check the authenticity of the certificate as well as some personal information and the reason why you do not pose a risk.
The rollout of the green digital certificate throughout the EU will present the EU with a huge logistical challenge. The app and certificate must be valid in all EU countries and all EU member states must agree on the same conditions.
A collective decision on these conditions is the next step in bringing the Commission’s proposal to fruition.
What are your thoughts on the digital green certificate? Let us know in the comments below!
The rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine was paused earlier this week but it looks like it won’t be a long break. Health Minister Hugo de Jonge has announced that vaccinations will be resumed next week.
This decision has been made after the European Medical Agency (EMA) did research into the safety of the coronavirus vaccine. It found that the chance of serious side effects, including those related to blood clots, was very small.
Recalled for the vaccine
Those who had their appointments cancelled this week will be the first to get vaccinated. GPs will start using the vaccine again on Monday, and the GGD will resume vaccinations on Wednesday, according to RTL Nieuws.
The Netherlands has ordered a total of 11.7 million doses of the vaccine. Each person who receives the AstraZeneca vaccine requires two doses to be fully vaccinated against coronavirus.
Why was it paused?
De Jonge made the decision to pause the vaccine earlier this week based on the advice of the Dutch Medicines Evaluation Board CBG due to the concerns over its link to blood clotting. Many other European countries also made the decision to halt the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine. As of next week, some other countries that chose to pause the use of the vaccine will also resume its rollout.
The director of the EMA, Emer Cooke, told RTL Nieuws “There is no evidence of a link between the seven rare complications and the vaccine, but there may be. It needs further investigation.”
Are you surprised at how quickly vaccinations will be resumed? Let us know in the comments!
Welcome to the day after the elections! We’ve got a staggering 17 parties set for the Dutch parliament and I can imagine you, the international reader, is still wondering what just happened?
Well, with nearly 90% of the election results in, Mark Rutte is still winning while the left is still losing — all while there’s a pandemic playing out. And with 17 parties in parliament, it’s quite a pickle to figure out what a new coalition government will look like; one now needs a degree in both political science and math to wrap their heads around the current political situation and possible coalitions.
So let’s help you international readers make sense of this multi-party system and the Dutch election results of 2021.
1. Mark Rutte wins — again
A whole generation of young people is growing up having only known Mark Rutte as the Prime Minister of the Netherlands. In the end; no botched handling of the corona-crisis or child-care allowance scandal was enough to deter people from voting for Rutte once again.
Other parties might say otherwise, but a big portion of the Dutch once again trust the upbeat, cycling-about Mark “Teflon” Rutte. In 2022, he will surpass Ruud Lubbers and become the longest-serving prime minister of the Netherlands.
Dutch prime minister expresses outrage when journalist comments he’s cycling an electric bike pic.twitter.com/GL6KDBcXyz
And if you ask me, he might just go for four more years in the 2025 elections. He likes the job and the Dutch like him on the job.
2. The left loses hard
The Netherlands isn’t a balanced political country. The (center)-right is always a bit bigger than the left. But this time around the three leftists parties: PvdA (labour — keeping up with their UK counterpart), GreenLeft and SP (socialists) all had thoroughly disappointing results.
Together these left parties are only gaining about 25 seats, way less than the nearly 30 seats the far-right parties get.
Apparently, the average Dutch voter didn’t care that much about affordable housing and the welfare state. These three parties now need to reinvent themselves once more and figure out how how to appeal to a broader audience, perhaps a merger is a way to go?
If you’re confused by this outcome, it’s probably good to know that you’re most likely in a bubble with young internationally-minded Dutch people who vote for leftists parties. Unfortunately for the young city crowd, a large part of the Netherlands isn’t really into those ideas.
In case anyone was wondering how the Dutch Labour Party is doing, these are their seats won out of 150 in parliament https://t.co/hvcbgORsDg
3. D66 and “potential” first female prime minister of the Netherlands Sigrid Kaag win big
Everybody expected Mark Rutte to win. But the polls were less clear about who would come in second. Would it be Wilders? Or perhaps the Christian Democratic CDA with the “presidential Hoekstra”? Or D66 with Sigrid Kaag, the slightly elitist but seasoned diplomat?
It looks like D66 will emerge with 24 seats today, these are three less than the whopping 27 of yesterday’s exit poll. Nonetheless, it’s a great result for the progressive liberal D66 and the result of a brilliant campaign that positioned Sigrid Kaag as the “fresh female alternative” for Mark Rutte.
One way or the other she will have a big say in the new coalition and will be eyeing to beat Rutte in four years.
4. There’s a record number of parties entering parliament
Sure sex is great, but have you ever properly felt the thrill of handling a Dutch ballot?
— Buffi Duberman, English Coach 💕 (@buffiduberman) March 16, 2021
Such a ballot brings with it a big batch of new political parties for parliament. As it stands now, there will be an impressive 17 (!) parties present in the Dutch parliament, there hasn’t been that much present since 1918. So who are the new kids on the block?
JA21
There’s JA21 — rightwing populists who separated themselves from Thierry Baudet’s conspiracy-ridden Forum for Democracy after accusations of antisemitism and racism ran rampant there. They’re set for four seats.
Volt
Then there’s Volt. Despite the overlap with D66 they managed to get a buzz going with the young and internationally-minded crowd and now the pan-European party get three seats.
Bij1
There’s Bij1 — standing to get one seat — with black activist frontwoman Sylvana Simons.
BBB
There’s the BBB which stands for the Farmer-Citizen-Movement and it looks like they’ll also get one seat.
5. We’ll have a new coalition — but likely not that much will change
So winners, losers and loads of newbies. What does this mean in the long-run for Dutch politics and eventually the Netherlands?
Well, a coalition needs to be formed — it will likely be one with at least the VVD, D66 and CDA. But at least one other party is needed in order to get a majority in the senate.
It’s also important to bear in mind that in the Netherlands the makeup of the senate is very different to that of parliament.
The government now needs to agree on four, perhaps five, parties who, in turn, will agree on what to do after the crisis ends. How will they tackle climate change, the growing inequality in society and the housing crisis?
The answer is likely not by following leftists social ideas, they didn’t get the confidence from the voters. At the same time, it will probably not be by following far right-wing populist ideas; Rutte and Kaag already excluded Wilders and Baudet from any possible coalition.
Right now on the radio a Leiden professor explaining how he outlined the composition of the Dutch parliament (15 parties) to a Korean audience. The only question he got was “How can we avoid this ever happening in our country?”.
The pressure is on this time since nobody will appreciate political games while the country endures a seemingly endless lockdown.
Looking into the future one can envision a coalition that isn’t wildly different from the coalition the Netherlands just had the past four years.
While perhaps the Netherlands is well off with a stable government run by happy-go-cycling Mark Rutte during the endgame of the pandemic, the general feeling in the country is that change is needed. Given the similarity between these election results and the last, whether that change will happen, is unlikely.
What do you think was the biggest takeaway from the Dutch election results of 2021? Are you happy with four more years for Mark Rutte?
People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and its leader and current Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, remains expected to snatch 35 seats in the House of Representatives.
The surprising second runner-up — Sigrid Kaag’s D66 (Democrats 66) — is expected to obtain 24 seats.These are great elections results for the progressive liberal party, but is now is three seats less than the trailblazing 27 seats yesterday’s IPSOS exit poll predicted.
Vote counting continues
This preliminary forecast comes from the election service of the ANP — Het Algemeen Nederlands Persbureau — and is based on 88.5% of the votes at 8:30 this morning. Amsterdam, Utrecht, and The Hague are included, whereas the vote counting is still ongoing in Rotterdam. There may still be some (marginal) changes further up the road.
The final distribution of seats has yet to be calculated, but it probably won’t differ much from what we’re seeing right now. The counting is going slower than in the previous 2017 election. This is mainly due to the coronavirus measures that are currently in place, as well as the fact that more parties are on the ballot this year.
Who gets the other seats?
Geert Wilders’ PVV (Party for Freedom) is the third-largest party, expected to get 17 seats. Then comes the CDA with 15 seats (one more than in the exit poll of yesterday), Forum for Democracy (FvD) (eight seats), and GroenLinks with a disappointing seven seats. PvdA and SP are also both up at nine seats.
Where the VVD and D66 are hailed as the big victors, the leftist parties SP, GroenLinks and PvdA are generally being considered the losers of the Dutch elections of 2021.
Remember that horrible benefits scandal? The parties of the two MPs who did most to uncover that (CDA and SP) were massively punished, the party arguably most responsible for it actually won seats.
There are also some new parties set to make an entrance. Populist right-wing JA21 stands to get four seats. Pan-European party Volt is set for three. A few other parties are expected to gain one seat, but that’s still a tense and developing situation for them since that can also change with the last votes coming in.
As it is now, there will be an impressive 17 (!) parties present in the Dutch parliament, there haven’t been that many parties present since 1918.
Are you surprised by the Dutch election results? Let us know in the comments below!
The exit poll is just in and although one or two seats might change hands the general outcome is clear. Incumbent Prime Minister Mark Rutte and the VVD wins the elections once again with an expected 35 seats of the 150 available seats in the Dutch parliament.
Normally the leader of the largest party becomes Prime Minister. Mark Rutte (VVD) therefore stands to become the longest-serving Prime Minister in Dutch history.
Right after that is Sigrid Kaag from D66 with a whopping 27 seats beating Wilders with his PVV which comes in third with 17 seats. Hoekstra and the CDA end up with 14 seats. The parties on the left: PvdA, SP and Green Left all turn in disappointing results.
Dutch elections: battle for the second place
In some way, the only element of suspense in this election is which party comes in second place. This is important, not only on a symbolic level but also because it can decide who will become the Minister of Finance. Rutte has already excluded Wilders (or Baudet for that matter) from participating in any new coalition. Therefore many people are also eyeing whether the CDA or D66 becomes the bigger party, as these parties are likely to once again participate in the upcoming coalition. It looks like D66 takes the coveted second place.
Another big takeaway from the polls is the big number of parties likely gaining their first seats in parliament. Volt for example stands to gain 4 seats.
Exit polls of the Dutch parliamentary (150 seats) elections of March 17 2021 VVD (Rutte)35 seats D66 (Kaag)27 PVV (Wilders)17 CDA (Hoekstra)14 PvdA (Ploumen)9 GL (Klaver)6 SP (Marijnissen)8 CU (Segers)4 PvdD (Ouwehand)6 FvD (Baudet)7 SGP (Van der Staaij)3
Click on the tweet to check out where the other seats go
The IPSOS/NOS exit poll is considered pretty accurate. Although this election there is a greater margin of uncertainty since the relatively large share of postal votes and the three days of voting.
So what happens next and who will be in the new Dutch coalition?
This evening we might know who the winners and losers are, but what we don’t yet know for sure is who will or won’t be in the House of Representatives. After Wednesday, the Electoral Council needs a few days to finalise the results, count the preferential votes and allocate the remaining seats.
The formation of a cabinet normally starts on Thursday, when the chair of parliament – Khadija Arib – receives the newly elected group of political party leaders. These leaders choose an explorer or scout (verkenner), who will talk to other political parties to see who wants to be part of a ruling coalition. Parties that lost votes usually don’t put themselves forward. When the verkenner has spoken with all parties and has made a final report, the new House of Representatives (which takes its seats on March 31) will appoint an informateur who will then really get to work.
It is common for the largest party to take the lead and provide verkenner and informateur (the person who puts the coalition together) and later on the formateur (who speaks to prospective ministers), but not before the votes are counted. All of this can take many months, but there is a general feeling in the country that this process should not take more than a few weeks in order to create a stable government during the coronavirus pandemic.
But you can bet that the VVD already has a list of names ready to go for the pivotal formation positions.
Looks like 4 more years of Mark Rutte after these Dutch elections! How do you feel about that and the exit polls?
How the Dutch government is organised goes back to a famous French philosopher Charles Montesquieu and his radical idea of the Trias Politica.
Politics in the Netherlands doesn’t tend to make many headlines on the world stage, at least compared to the corruption and drama many nations have to deal with. Perhaps this is thanks to the system of power in the Netherlands known as Trias Politica (which, in my opinion, other countries should take note of).
The Trias Politica
The term “Trias Politica” is a very popular term in the political corridors of the Netherlands. Before explaining how this Dutch system of government works, let me define it a little bit.
Trias Politica is a system of government where a country’s government is divided into branches, each with separate and independent powers and areas of responsibility so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with the powers associated with the other branches.
The French philosopher and political theorist Charles Montesquieu (1689-1755) was the founder of the Trias Politica, and his work l’Esprit des Lois (The Spirit of Laws), in 1748 concludes that there are three powers that must be separated: the legislative power, the executive power and the judiciary.
According to Montesquieu, in a good political system, these three different powers must control each other and power should therefore never lie with a small select group of nobles and clergy, as was customary in his time.
To really understand the system of government that has been adopted by the Netherlands, one must take a good look at how the country made a transition from absolute monarchy to a parliamentary system of democracy, where the king still has a part to play despite not having “absolute power” anymore.
Following the People’s Spring or The Revolutions of 1848 that spread like wildfire throughout Europe, the then king of the Netherlands William II decided to allow a change of system that would usher in an era of parliamentary democracy into the Netherlands.
Seeing as the revolutions were essentially democratic and liberal in nature, with the aim of removing the old monarchies and replacing them with independent national states, King William II decided to let Dutch statesman Johan Rudolph Thorbecke revise the constitution.
Origin
When the Dutch politician, Johan Thorbecke wrote the new Dutch Constitution in 1848, he was guided by Charles Montesquieu’s work. However, he did not use the Trias Politica in its purest form. There is, of course, the three powers in the Netherlands but there is still a slight difference. These three powers are:
The legislature is the Government (Queen and Ministers) and the States General (First and Second Chamber) together.
The executive power is the government, the provinces and the municipalities.
The judiciary is in the hands of the judges.
The Legislative Branch
According to Montesquieu, the government should not have any legislative power at all. In the Netherlands, however, most legislation comes from the government. The House of Representatives always has a controlling role as a formal legislator and the possibility to amend laws (right of amendment).
In the Netherlands, both the government and the State-General have legislative power. The States-General represent the entire Dutch people and consist of the First and Second Chambers. They are also collectively referred to as the Parliament. The government and the States-General are authorized to make and amend laws.
In many cases, the government coalition is supported in the Netherlands by a majority in the House of Representatives, and for this reason, the separation of power in the Netherlands as Montesquieu intended is not exactly known.
The Executive Branch
The executive power is the seat of government. The government consists of the King or Queen and the ministers. The team of ministers is called “The Council of Ministers”, and are all under the leadership of the Prime Minister or Minister-President in Dutch.
The Council of Ministers makes decisions on matters that affect the government on every aspect of life in the Netherlands.
The Judicial Branch
The judiciary in the Netherlands is in the hands of the judges. According to Montesquieu, these judges must be controlled by citizens in the form of a jury trial but that is not the case in the Netherlands. The most important function of the judiciary is the settlement of disputes based on the laws of the land.
Furthermore, judges do not make laws and the independence of the judiciary is always of paramount importance. This is important because a judge can be asked for an opinion on the legality of acts of law or administration. For this reason, a judge is in no way subordinated to another government body.
The Dutch System of Checks and Balances
In the Dutch political system, according to the Trias Politica, none of these branches of government has the upper hand over the others. They are technically equal and none is more powerful than the other.
While absolute monarchy no longer exists in the Netherlands, constitutionally, the King is the head of state and has a role in the formation of the government and in the legislative process. He has to co-sign every law to make it valid.
The Government of the Netherlands constitutionally consists of the King and the cabinet ministers. The King’s role is limited to the formation of the government and he does not actively interfere in daily decision making.
The Dutch Parliament
The Dutch Parliament, officially known as the States-General of the Netherlands, consists of a House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer) and a Senate (Eerste Kamer). Both chambers meet at the Binnenhof in The Hague.
The Council of State
The Council of State is an advisory body of the cabinet on constitutional and judicial aspects of legislature and policy. This council consists of members of the royal family and other members (appointed by the crown) with political, commercial, diplomatic or military experience.
All laws proposed by the cabinet have to be sent to the Council of State for advice. While the advice may not be binding, the cabinet is required to react to the advice and it often plays a significant role in the ensuing debate in Parliament.
Why the Dutch system of government matters
The Dutch system of government is very important for various reasons. The most important reason is ensuring the freedom of her citizens. Personally, I find the Netherlands to be the “true land of the free.” This is a country where no arm of the government is more powerful than the other and the system is set up in a way that it not only works, it also protects the rights and freedoms of its citizens.
It is a system with the understanding that instead of arming the populace (like the U.S) in case of government tyranny, the best solution would be to make use of a system where the government is never too powerful to oppress the people in the first place. The Dutch “Trias Politica” perfectly shows how the freedom of an individual can be protected from the power of the State.
American example:
Take the U.S Second Amendment as an example.
Second Amendment. Image: Nick Youngson/ImageCreator
It was based partially on the right to keep and bear arms in English common law and was influenced by the English Bill of Rights of 1689. It can be described as an auxiliary right, supporting the natural rights of self-defense and resistance to oppression.
Of course, the U.S. Constitution sets up the U.S. government in a way that no one branch is more powerful than the other. This is called “separation of powers” or “checks and balances.”
This involves the legislative, judicial, and executive branches, plus the 50 states. The American founding fathers did not trust the nature of men and did not want to concentrate power in one branch, so they divided power amongst all branches. In theory, it all seems perfect, but in practice, a problem has always presented itself.
There have been different times in history when the balance has been a bit off. The problem with the U.S. system of government is that if you ask her citizens to name a branch which is more powerful than the others, they always seem to name one branch of government — and it should not be so!
A lot of Americans grow up with the natural instinct that they have to be armed just in case the government becomes tyrannical, and they have to defend themselves. Unfortunately, we live in a world where such an instinct, backed by the second amendment, has seen weapons easily get into the hands of very sick people who have used them to take lots of innocent lives.
It raises the question; “why set up a government that has a chance of oppressing its citizens, and then arming the citizens against said oppression when you could have just set up a government that has no chance of ever becoming tyrannical?” In other words, the best way to fight tyranny is to set up measures that make sure no arm of government ever becomes too powerful to control.
The Trias Politica was used to make sure that William II and his descendants who later ascended the throne weren’t despotic rulers. It played a crucial role in perfectly separating power amongst the branches of government and ensuring that none of these branches would ever become too powerful to control.
It can be said that the Trias Politica curbed tyranny in the Netherlands and ensured that her people would never have to worry about rising up in arms against despotic rulers.
I’m of the opinion that if the U.S founding fathers tried the Trias Politica, arming the American populace wouldn’t have been necessary. I honestly believe that the U.S. has a thing or two to learn from Dutch statesman Johan Rudolph Thorbecke.
Do you have any opinions about the current Dutch system of government? What about your own country? Tell us in the comments!
Feature image: Rudy and Peter Skitterians/Pixabay
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in May 2018, and was fully updated in March 2021 for your reading pleasure.
