The day after the 2021 Dutch General Elections

On Thursday 18 March, the day after the elections, four political experts came together to analyse the results of the elections, live from Forum Groningen.

In the Dutch back-to-back webinar, Prof. Dr. Carolien van Ham, Professor of Empirical Political Science at Radboud University, explained that we are dealing with “a surprising election result”. The Kaag effect played a role, but also strategic voting was a major cause. 25% of the voters who voted for GroenLinks in 2017 voted for D66 this year. Prof. Dr. Kees Aarts, Professor of Political Institutions and Behavior, discussed the consequences of this election result. “D66 has become the refuge for leftists, which caused the traditional leftist parties to shrink. This election result can be the engine to create a cooperation between the left parties”, said the professor. Drs. Henk Pijlman, D66 party member and vice-chairman of the Senate Committee of ECS, discussed the regional consequences of the election results, identifying a striking phenomenon: “Everywhere in the country, the VVD has become the largest, except in Groningen. In Groningen, D66 received the highest electoral votes”. During the English back-to-back webinar, Dr. Benjamin Leruth, Assistant Professor of Political Science, spoke about the consequences of this election result at the European level. The Dutch campaign did not receive much international interest, even though the outcome of the election may have significant consequences for European integration.

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