The country looks at hers navel... and we loose: The chauvinism of the SP and the PvV carry the day.

To think in the composition of the next parliament, go back to the referendum on the european constitution. Against the advice of most big parties, the treaty was rejected. At that moment we were faced with a sub-estimated current of opinion. When deciding for a treaty -not even a constitution- that seemed to give more power to Brussels, the majority of the country defied their political leaders and said no. In one way or another, that referendum brought the traditional understanding of NL as an outgoing and globalized country to an end.

The Netherlands is a chauvinist country.

Now, turn to the results of yesterday election. The winners, even if they are not likely to take part in the coming government, are the SP and the PvV. It is not a coincidence that both were opposed to the european treaty. It is neither a coincidence that both are conservative parties, even if at odds in ideology. Think in Groenlinks again, and remember that our election program was -by far and large- the best international minded set of proposals. Consider our far reaching internationalism. It is no surprise that we loose this election.

In an anti globalization climate, Groenlinks is the looser.

So far we have been focus on intelligent renovation. Our imago, trendy and modern, speaks of a sophisticated reform, not of a conservative revolution. The higher newcomer in our list of candidates is an internationalist. But for electing NL, internationalists are not priority. The winning slogans of the elections are “less power for brussels” and “less islam for Holland”. Both ideas are misleading and mistaken, and nevertheless, election winners.

We are told that groenlinks will discuss her ideology from january onwards. But perhaps our ideology is not so much the problem. Perhaps what we should learn, and discuss, and take lessons from, is the country in which we live. This elections will not change my mind about the need of international engagement. But it surely will make me think about the relevance that this particular issue has for The Netherlands today.

If you care for ideologies, this country is polarizing. The big increase in votes is in the far left and in the far right. But the political ideas of a population of 16 million persons do not change in five years. The big parties are loosing ground, since long time ago. The image that Netherlanders have of Netherlands is being slowly but constantly changing. And the winners of this round has one thing in common. Both want back to the past in which this country, their country, was united and powerful. As in other countries of the world, and in other times, the discredit of social and christian democrats opens the space for nationalism.