Very low awareness of European elections among Dutch

Only 4 percent of Dutch respondents are aware that European elections are being held on 4 June. The various parties’ front-runners are virtually totally unknown, according to a survey by Synovate.

Only 20 percent of the Dutch know that European Parliamentary elections are being held this year. Just 10 percent knew the date is in June. Finally, a meagre 4 percent were able to name the exact date (4 June) unprompted.

Centre-left (D66) and Socialist Party (SP) voters were most likely to name the correct date (9 percent and 7 percent respectively). Party for Freedom (PVV) voters were least likely to do so (2 percent).

Almost nobody was able to name a front-runner. Scoring least poorly was Hans van Baalen; 3.4 percent knew he was the front-runner for the conservatives (VVD) in Europe.

Christian democrat (CDA) Wim van der Camp had to make do with 2.8 percent; Labour (PvdA) Thijs Berman with 2.0 percent and Sophie in ‘t Veld (D66) and Dennis de Jong (SP) with 1.0 percent each. Even lower is awareness of leftwing Green (GroenLinks) Judith Sargentini and small Christian party ChristenUnie’s Peter van Dalen (ChristenUnie). PVV has not yet announced a front-runner.

The researchers presented respondents with a number of statements concerning Europe, with which they could agree, disagree or remain undecided. This revealed that 53 percent agree that ‘the Netherlands has too little to say in Europe,’ while 14 percent disagreed with this statement.

‘Turkey is welcome as the 28th member of the EU’ for only 18 percent, while 49 percent say ‘no’ to this. Some 35 percent agree it is ‘a pity that East European countries have joined the EU’ – and 28 percent disagree.

The guilder should return instead of the euro, say 32 percent, while 49 percent reject this. Around 22 percent do think and 40 percent do not think ‘there should be an elected European president.’

Source: NIS News, 30 March 2009