Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Nederlands Politics










European economic woes and news of conflict within the European Union on how to best deal with Greece and its economic threat to the Euro have been in the news lately. Having lived there, we understand the situation and some of the difficulties the Europeans are facing. The EU has been a force for good in many ways within Europe. It has united Europe as they had hoped and certainly opened up trade and travel within its borders. We were very happy to drive right through old border crossings and the unified currency saved us a lot of money in conversion fees. We, especially Jon, still traveled to non-EU countries so we still had to deal with currency conversion. These you pay coming and going so I gained new insight into why the money changers of old were so wealthy. And reviled.
It has also united them economically, which was one of their goals, but this has been for better and now for worse. These changes have all come at a price, and a high one from an American perspective. Each country and its inhabitants have surrendered to a very large degree, their sovereign rights as a people and as a nation. In some cases the people are still trying to make themselves heard and have an impact on the decisions made by the EU, They have been able to vote on issues in the past, but to little avail and an encounter with a young Dutchman highlights what has happened.



When Jon and I were in the process of renewing our annual residency permits about a year ago we needed photos. We are in our fifties and the truth be told we don't change much from year to year, but no photo older than six months is allowed, so we help sustain the photo industry with new photos each year at $30 a pop for the two of us. Normally this is a simple thing - sit on the stool, don't show your teeth, no smiling, expose both ears for facial recognition software, and snap, snap, snap. We pick the best of a bad lot and we are done.

Jon's photo, couldn't find one of my mug shots
       Our photographer was a young man who, when he found out we were American, wanted to talk a bit of politics. Normally if a European wants to talk politics with an American, it is about American politics, healthcare reform, Obama, etc. This young fellow surprised us by wanting to talk about Dutch politics. He shared with us his frustrations with the parliamentary system of representation. I knew a bit about it, but I didn't realize how little representation it actually gave and in many ways, how little of a sense of control in government for the people. In this system you vote for a party. If one party gets a majority, then they govern. If not, which is the usual case, then they must form a coalition. They have twenty or so parties here in Holland. Basically any parties outside the coalition have no power at all. The people do not vote for their Prime Minister, their equivalent of our President. He is chosen by the dominant party. He shared how he voted as conservatively as he could, but he said it didn't matter much here. There is no black and white in politics, just shades of gray. There is no one representing your area or a particular constituency. Instead the parties represent ideas or philosophies. For example our neighbors are proponents of the Dieren Party. This is the party for the animals. Their goal is to promote animal welfare and rights. This is all this party represents. They actually currently hold three seats in the Dutch parliament.

              He shared with us about their Constitution. It has one important provision in it and with that one simple statement it deprives their constitution of all meaning. It ends with a statement that he summed up as saying, " Any law passed by Parliament will overrule anything in the Constitution." He called it a worthless document. In contrast, our laws must line up with our Constitution. At least in theory. It provides a solid foundation for our laws and our Founding Fathers made provisions for changes to the Constitution keep it from being rigid. At least in theory.

       He was frustrated that the people of his nation, when given the chance, have often voted against European Union laws or initiatives, only to have their vote dismissed and their Parliament pass the law anyway. Of this, we were aware. This has happened in other EU countries as well. We have wondered why the European Union Parliament makes provisions for popular votes on initiatives if it carries no weight.

    He wanted to talk us about the conservative talk radio movement in the US and how many people listen to it. (And people think westerners dont listen much to the radio any more, hmmm.) He shared with us about the one, somewhat more conservative radio station, they have in Holland and that it has low listenership. He longed for a place to hear his own ideas expressed and shared by others. It was actually a brief conversation, but we understood his frustration which amazingly had no bitterness in it. He is a young man, maybe in his mid-twenties. It was refreshing to see a young person who cares about politics and the course of his nation. I don't know if that is common here in the Netherlands, but more and more the young people of America are opting out of the political spectrum and their voting levels are usually low. They see their one vote floating in a sea of millions and think it has no value. 

         All of this as well as the things happening politically in the United States reminded me how important it is to pray for our leaders that they may rule us with wisdom. Having lived in Holland has made me realize that though my prayers for my nation seemed large in the scope of all they covered, they fell far short of encompassing the globe which is what they should have done. My horizons have enlarged a bit and this encounter with this young man reminded me of that necessity.