'Many Dutch voters still feel angry'

Jan Rood heads the European Studies Programme of the Clingendael Institute of International Relations in The Hague. "It is telling that not every candidate seems to know how Europe works."

In the run-up to the European elections, what issues are being debated in the Netherlands?

"Putting aside that this is not a full-fledged political campaign, a few issues stand out in the debates among candidates. Should Turkey be admitted? Where does all the money go? What should be regulated on a European level and what should remain national? These are European themes, but the focus is national. The overall feeling is that the Dutch position and interests in Europe should be defended. In national politics, there is a lot of debate about the populist Party for Freedom led by Geert Wilders. Other parties are now saying that they don't want to govern with him, even though some polls predict Wilders' party could become the biggest if national elections were held today. But this is, at the moment, less of an issue in the debates surrounding the European elections. Is is more an issue of national politics."

A key issue in European politics is market ideology, especially with the financial crisis. In the Netherlands, is there debate about whether the market ideology of Brussels needs to be amended?

"You'll find elements of this discussion in the debate about whether Essent, a leading power company, should be sold to the German power company RWE. This deal seems almost certain now, but a lot of people have argued that the Netherlands were wrong to make the sale of its electricity companies possible, anticipating an obligation to do so by Brussels. We should note that recently, Brussels has decided that countries have no obligation to split their electricity companies in a production unit and a network unit, thus facilitating the sale of production units to foreign companies. We wanted to be the first in Europe to act on these anticipated neoliberal measures. But now we have discovered there was no real need to do so.

"As a result of the financial and economic crisis, the debate about Europe has become more ideological. Some people are demanding a more social Europe and would like the EU to take more measures to fight the effects of this crisis. People are questioning the free-market ideology. Has it gone too far? The Socialist Party, one of the main opposition parties, argues that indeed, Europe has become too neoliberal. These sentiments are not new to the Dutch, by the way. You could hear similar voices four years ago, when the Dutch voted no in a referendum on the European constitution – although these kind of doubts were stronger in France."

Another key issue is euroscepticism. What is the general attitude in the Netherlands towards Europe? Is there a populist protest against Europe?

"Definitely. You'll find that in various forms. There is the socialist party which distorts all pleas for more European cooperation as moves towards a superstate. And then we have Christian democrat leader Wim van de Camp, who is pontificating about bureaucracy in Brussels and the need to increase efficiency and cut back on expenses.

"Voters seem to like this kind of talk. We have heard it all before, but what is new is that it is no longer limited to the traditionally eurosceptic parties; now you'll find it also within parties that have traditionally been in favour of Europe, such as the two coalition parties, the Christian democratic party and the Labour party.

"A lot of candidates say they want less Europe, less regulations, less expenses. They talk about Europe in terms of bureaucracy, meddling, waste and corruption. There is a lot of simplification and populism in that. As if even candidates for the European parliament are not willing to look more deeply into the matter and explain to the voters how things really are. They should know that the European budget is extremely small, that the number of European officials is extremely limited. How could one then denounce Europe as a perceived bureaucratic moloch with its tentacles everywhere? It is telling that not every candidate seems to know how Europe works.

"High-profile politicians in the Netherlands do not easily choose to go to Brussels – in that sense we're different from Belgium. Voters interpret that as a sign that the European elections are not that important."

How would voters in the Netherlands like the EU to develop? Would they support a joint foreign policy? A stronger central bank?

"My general view is that the Dutch are kind of suspicious and critical about further European integration. You won't find that by looking at the results of the Eurobarometer. In these polls, the Dutch seem to be quite positive about Europe. This is because the single market has turned out to be a big advantage for the Netherlands. But suggestions about more integration and moves towards a common foreign policy or a common monetary policy touch a sensitive spot. I am sure that many voters still feel angry that the government decided not to hold a second referendum after the initial no to the European constitution in 2005. After a couple of changes in the text of the Lisbon Treaty, the government decided to play it safe and pushed it through parliament instead. Given the chance, many voters would like to show that they strongly disagree with that decision."

Any anecdotes in the campaign for the European elections in the Netherlands?

"It is interesting to notice that most parties are united against the Party for Freedom of Geert Wilders. Its leading candidate is saying some rabid things about European integration. And because in national politics the party's anti-Islam stance seems to become increasingly popular, I think the Party for Freedom will become a major factor in the final weeks of the campaign."