On June 9th there are parliamentary elections in the Netherlands. It will be an interesting day, and most probably the current Prime Minister will be ousted. Time for a change. From our current home town, Riga, we sent in our votes a little while ago, in the designated orange envelope. As Dutch citizens, we have the right to vote in the Dutch parliamentary elections, even if Dutch policy has a declining influence on our day-to-day lives. And vice versa. Living abroad automatically brings distance. And in some cases, I am more interested in having a right to vote here in Latvia, where I have a business, than in my home country.
And that makes it interesting. I think we are just two of many people that have chosen, and are fortunate enough, to live in another country. As part of our new societies we pay taxes, earn and spend money locally and are governed by the local rules and regulations. Since Latvia is, as the Netherlands, an EU member state, more and more of these rules and regulations come from, or are inspired by, Brussels. Still, with my vote I can only assert influence on the Dutch rules, and on the participation of political parties registered in the Netherlands for the European arena. Increasingly, this seems strange to me. Following the debates surrounding the elections, and the issues that are apparently important, I feel a declining degree of interest, and a growing disconnect between the things I think are important, and Dutch society. Especially since campaigns and politics are more and more focused on winning the next elections in stead of governing the country in a sustainable way. Maybe in Europe it is time to change the assigning of democratic rights not only to citizens (I am a Dutch national, and there are things I still want to exercise my democratic right for), but also to registered residents. Because those are the people that are governed by the elected government. And also, it would be time for truly pan-european political parties. Those that are not focused on national visions, limitations and power bases, but political parties that focus on what is best for the whole of Europe. It might be a bit controversial for some, but what we sometimes forget is that European model is a great example of how to bring peace to a region through economic cooperation.
So, whoever brings that to the table in the next Dutch elections, will be very likely to find her voted for in my next orange envelope.