Felicia is already 23 years old, yet Felicia has never felt like voting before. Today you want to talk. firm. “Maybe it’s short-sighted, but I’m voting for the PVV. I’m just scared. The way things are going here with these asylum seekers, it can’t last much longer.”
If there is a place in the Netherlands where national politics – Or rather the lack thereof –Locally, it is here in Ter Apel. The village is tired of the inconvenience caused by a relatively small group of safe landings and the lack of solidarity in the form of shelters elsewhere.
Earlier this week, a group of concerned businessmen (it is not clear who exactly) sent an urgent message to The Hague. They see the parties fighting among themselves on television over closed borders and the distribution law. But nothing comes of solving the problems at Ter Apel. The village is abstract, distant. We have lost all confidence in politics.
Dennis Klummakers believes this sentiment will lead to a massive victory for Geert Wilders’ party, the PVV, which has traditionally achieved good results here. ‘Ter Apel in the cold. Politicians listen, but do nothing.
He has just voted into the gym for Peter Umtsigt (National Security Council), whom he praises for his knowledge of the dossier and promises better management. But if I have two votes, the second one goes to Wilders. “I hope he joins the government.”
Spread the law
This also applies to Jose Guling. It does not want to venture into “extreme positions” such as the “next” that Wilders calls for. That’s why she voted for VVD herself. But she says immigration is a priority for most people here in Ter Apel. “How are you supposed to make a statement?” When politicians promise to restore trust but do not follow through on these promises, it becomes extremely difficult.
Her fellow villager, who does not want to be named but wants to reveal that he voted “strategic left,” has major concerns. “I am afraid of the right-wing bloc.”
He says the much-discussed law of dispersion will provide relief. But the parties that became the largest here two years ago openly oppose this. PVV first. But also the VVD of Foreign Minister Erich van der Burgh. He promised the village countless times that he would improve through the law he fought for. It is also remarkable that fellow villager Herma Hemin jumped from the local CDA to the BBB. As a member of the Council she was openly in favor of the Dispersal Act, and as an aspiring Member of Parliament she was against it.
He also believes that the problems at Ter Apel should not be underestimated. “Security in every supermarket is not normal.” But at the same time, he recently became angry with a local council member in Zandvoort, who shut down an asylum seeker center there.
“The rest of the Netherlands leaves Ter Apel alone. That’s why gut feelings rule here. People feel abandoned and betrayed. Wilders is running away with it.”
Juri van den Berg
