There are 2 elections in my life right now. You all know about the one coming up in the US tomorrow, I’m trying to ignore it as much as I can. (In a state with neck and neck senate and gubernatorial races, that’s hard, believe me) There will also, however, be an election in the Netherlands later this month.
I take Holland a little more seriously than the People's Republic of Maryland. So I spent about 3 minutes on 'stemwijzer'-an interactive Dutch website which helps you decide which party to vote for. First, the site gives 30 statements dealing with current issues and you can click 'agree’ ‘disagree’ or ‘don’t know.’
E.g. 'Euthanasia should be banned.' I clicked 'agree'
Of course immigration and Islam issues are center stage in Holland. I am a bit of a political schizophrenic here.
one statement: 'No new mosques should be built.' I clicked “agree”
But then of course there's...
'No one should be allowed to hold both a Dutch passport and a passport from another country.' - I clicked 'disagree'
I realize banning dual citizenship is a good way to encourage the muslim population to assimilate…but if they want to take MY second passport away from me, they will have to pry it from my cold dead hands!!!!!!
Ok, anyway…
another statement: 'The prime minister should be directly elected by the people'- I clicked 'disagree.'
I am not a disciple of Harvey Mansfield. I prefer a weak executive, thank you. Let the party make him, so they can also take him down if need be.
The site then gave me the opportunity to indicate which statements are most important to me. I chose 'Euthenasia should be banned.'
Finally, the site allowed me to eliminate from consideration those parties for which I absolutely will not vote. I eliminated party X whose leader had once been rude to me when I interviewed him for my Dutch radio news internship.
I also eliminated any parties with an anti-monarchy platform. Not that abolishing the monarchy is politically feasible, it’s the principle of the thing.
The site then processed the results and...voila! I'm split between 2 parties: the traditional Christian one that bars women members (that’s my anti-Euthanasia stance talking) and the 'Party for Freedom' which bases its ideas on the philosophy of Francis Fukuyama and Tocqueville. I like this party's tough stance on radical Islam. But their leader has weird hair. (A very important consideration!) Here's the evidence....
So I guess I'll be sitting on the fence for now. advice? suggestions? I'm listening...
