Netherlands: An overwhelming ‘No’ vote to EU constitution


Voters ignore arrogant establishment and punish right-wing government

LAST WEEK’S vote on the European Constitution was the first time in
more than 200 years that Dutch people had a referendum. A high turnout
of 62.8% delivered a clear verdict – 61.6% voted against the
constitution and only 38.4% in favour.

Ron Blom, Offensief (CWI Netherlands)

There were different reasons why people voted against. It was mainly
blue-collar and white-collar workers, who are not convinced about
usefulness of the constitution and see the ‘neo-liberal’ ie capitalist
agenda behind it, who voted against.

The government parties and many opposition members of parliament –
the social democratic PvdA and the Green-Left party – used every
possible means, including crude propaganda, to try and convince the
public of voting in favour of the European constitution. The
pro-constitution campaign was backed by the employers’ federations and
the leadership of the trade unions. So, 85% of the political
establishment was in favour of the constitution.

The Dutch population has never been asked before to voice a direct
opinion on the European Union or its policies, including the
introduction of the euro and its inflationary effects on the prices of
food and other basic produce – which is obvious to everyone in the
Netherlands, except, it seems, the Minister of Finance. Many people had
serious doubts about the EU’s prescriptions for the economic and social
problems of the Netherlands.

The Dutch Socialist Party, a broad-based, Left party, played a
central role in the no campaign. There was also opposition from the
right. Geert Wilders, a right-wing, populist, who left the neo-liberal
VVD party, earlier this year, tried to carve out a sphere of influence
with his own no campaign, based on a reactionary, anti-immigrant
rhetoric but without much success.

The main campaign highlighted the lack of democracy inside the EU,
developments towards a so-called ‘European Army’, and the neo-liberal
character of the EU – an agenda which is clearly spelled out in the EU’s
‘Bolkestein Directive’.

The VVD’s pro-constitution television ads showed images of Auschwitz
Nazi concentration camp, while the voiceover talked about a possible
victory for the no side in the referendum. They said the "lights would
go out" in Europe.

The leader of the VVD referred to the red banners seen at the
celebrations of the French opponents of the constitution who won the
referendum in France: "The people of Eastern Europe have just freed
themselves from socialism; do they want to go back to that?"

Government gets a kicking

THE DUTCH population clearly rejects the coalition government, which
is led by Jan Peter Balkenende, and made up of the Christian Democrats,
the CDA, the right-wing liberals, the VVD, and the ‘left-wing’ liberals,
the D66.

The popularity of the government has plunged to a historic low of
19%. This is not surprising, as the coalition is guilty of ruling over
the country’s longest economic recession since 1945. The Netherlands is
one of the three European countries with the fastest rising unemployment
rates.

The outcome of the EU constitution referendum is another indication
that the Dutch people will not allow the government to destroy social
provisions without putting up a fight. This result is a continuation of
the large protests, held last autumn, against the austerity programme of
the Balkenende government. Then, 300,000 people took to the streets. Now
another important aspect of government policy – pushing through a yes
for the EU constitution – is relegated to the dustbin. It is clear the
Dutch population is sick of the elitist mentality of the government, its
cabinet, and the entire ruling class.

The vote against the EU constitution is an important signal of
opposition. To make this protest more powerful we need to organise and
prepare for more struggles with the establishment.

The call for the government to resign is getting an ever-increasing
echo. To achieve this aim, it is necessary to re-engage in a mass
struggle, without illusions in so-called Left parties, like the social
democratic PvdA, which has clearly chosen the side of the establishment.

Only genuine socialist policies, based on defending the interests of
the majority of the population, will be able to break with the
capitalist system. To achieve this, we will work together with other
socialists in Europe to counterpose the Europe of bosses and bureaucrats
with a socialist Europe, where people are put before profits.