🇳🇱 Politics and Elections in the Netherlands: General Election (Nov 22)

[YL]

When there is so much choice on the political market, it actually becomes more difficult to find a party as you raise your standards. In any normal country Dassen would be a perfectly happy member of their country's version of D66, but in the Netherlands you start your own party if you cannot subscribe for the full 100% to another. I attribute this to cultural Protestantism. When the Dutch wouldn't fully agree with their church, they would establish their own ones. It isn't any different with political parties. This is also the reason why there is so much infighting and splitting off in Dutch politics; of course, the system enabling this (with no threshold, as you said) does not help.

It strikes me as a largely predictable consequence of the electoral system.

[YL]

If Omtzigt does form a list and get a lot of MPs elected, what are the chances that they continue to form a coherent group for the whole term?

[YL]

Splinter is an excellent name for a Dutch political party.

[YL]

The Kieskompas, which uses a two-dimensional model and places you within it instead of comparing your % of agreement with parties, has now also been launched. The parties motivate their positions with at least one, but sometimes also multiple sources. Filling out your e-mail isn't mandatory, just don't do it. Enjoy.

I came out very close to GroenLinks/PvdA, which is about what I'd have expected.

[YL]

I find it fascinating how the presence of such a low threshold to win any seats in the Netherlands keeps leading to the proliferation of these teeny-weeny parties that have only the most microscopic differences from other parties. I mean seriously - why do you need a Party for the Animals AND a Green party? Why have D66 and Volt and PvdA etc... in any other country these parties would be factions within larger parties.

Not saying its necessarily good or bad - it just "is"

I would think of the difference between PvdA and D66 as being roughly analogous to that between Labour and the Lib Dems, and the latter just about manage to remain relevant in the majoritarian UK.  But Volt are a different matter: they are supposedly a pan-European party, but in most European countries they are essentially irrelevant in terms of actually winning seats, while in the Netherlands they have managed to find a niche.

Then there's the mass of virtually indistinguishable tedious populist right parties.  And, perhaps more interestingly, the parties which have quite a clear niche but one which wouldn't be big enough to win seats in most electoral systems: PvdD, DENK, 50Plus (though they seem to be on the way out), and to some extent the SGP (though perhaps the concentration of support they have in some areas would win them seats under other systems too).