{"id":84987,"date":"2018-03-07T17:31:39","date_gmt":"2018-03-07T16:31:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=84987"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:57","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:57","slug":"voorbij-de-zeeuwse-dijken-gloort-de-haagse-politiek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2018\/03\/07\/voorbij-de-zeeuwse-dijken-gloort-de-haagse-politiek\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyond the dikes of Zeeland lies the promise of politics on the national stage"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the run-up to the municipal elections, EM hits the campaign trail with students running for election. As leading candidate for the local chapter of the PVV, law student Vincent Bosch (20) wants a seat on the Tholen municipal council: \u2018We have to preserve Tholen\u2019s Dutch identity.\u2019<\/p>\n

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\u201cA lot of the people in my programme are aware of my political inclination, but it\u2019s not something I state openly.\u201d It\u2019s Friday morning, just before noon, when Vincent speaks about his fellow Law students in Rotterdam. You\u2019d almost forget he\u2019s still a student. That impression comes not just from his perfectly pressed suit and the maturity he displays, but it\u2019s also because Vincent has an unusual job on the side for a student: he is an elected representative for the PVV political party.<\/p>\n

Political talent<\/h2>

It all started with an appeal on Facebook, where Geert Wilders\u2019s party said it needed young, talented politicians. Vincent, 15 at the time, decided to respond to the call. He subsequently attended PVV classes to quickly prepare him for a political career with the party: \u201cLessons covering our ideology, training in debating, media presentation: it\u2019s not for everyone.\u201d When he was 17, he was on the candidate list for the Provincial Council elections, and when a fellow party member withdrew, he took up the position, becoming the youngest member of a provincial council in the Netherlands. He combines his work in this position, which occupies his time for about 25 hours a week, with three mornings at the university. And now he\u2019s eyeing a seat on the municipal council of \u2018his\u2019 community of Tholen.<\/p>\n

Vincent is the leading candidate for the local PVV in Tholen. On this island in the province of Zeeland, the conservative Christian traditionalist SGP party monopolises the political landscape. But if Vincent has anything to say about it, this is going to change after 21 March: \u201cIn the national elections around 15% of voters in Tholen voted for us, so I expect we will win three to four seats.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gleaming Audi<\/h2>

After a morning full of amendments, motions and interruptions, Vincent leaves the Provincial Council meeting and steps into his gleaming Audi. \u201cA big part of my remuneration goes into this car, but if you\u2019re driving three hours a day, that\u2019s a good reason to have a luxury car,\u201d he jokes during the drive from Middelburg to Oost Souburg. Here, he will take part in a live radio debate hosted by the provincial broadcaster Omroep Zeeland<\/em>. His opponents? The SGP candidate in Tholen \u2013 \u2018I have a son who is Vincent\u2019s age\u2019 \u2013 and the SP \u2013 \u2018My daughter could be his mother\u2019.<\/p>\n

The three gentlemen debate election issues close to the heart of the predominantly Christian community of Tholen, such as Sunday rest. Later on, the SP calls the PVV\u2019s election promise of prohibiting Islamic schools and mosques in Tholen into question: \u201cIs this actually a relevant issue here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJoshua Kruter<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

The islamisation of Tholen<\/h2>

On the way to the studio, Vincent had predicted that at some point the discussion would take this turn, and he now seizes the opportunity in what he refers to as a \u2018home game\u2019. He relates an anecdote of a conversation he had with a woman while handing out flyers: \u201cThey <\/em>live to the right of me, to the left of me, they <\/em>live across the street from me.\u201d He then clarifies who he is referring to with \u2018they<\/em>\u2019: \u201cTholen is overflowing with immigrants and asylum seekers.\u201d His argument on what he calls the \u2018islamisation of Tholen\u2019 colours the rest of the debate. Just before the advertisement break, the SGP candidate warns listeners in Tholen that: \u201cWe shouldn\u2019t be worrying about a non-existent danger.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vincent analyses the debate once we\u2019re back on the soft leather seats in the car. The latest figures from Statistics Netherlands revealed that not even 1 percent of the residents of Tholen<\/a> are Muslim. Isn\u2019t it an exaggeration to then speak of \u2018islamisation\u2019? According to Vincent, that\u2019s not the point at all. \u201cI use that word mainly to describe a threat. In our election campaign we say that \u2018We have to preserve Tholen\u2019s Dutch identity\u2019. You can\u2019t call Rotterdam a Dutch city anymore and that\u2019s why you see election posters there saying: \u2018Bring back the Dutch identity of the Netherlands!\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coffee with Geert<\/h2>
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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJoshua Kruter<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

Living in contemporary times but longing for a bygone era: how does he explain this longing? Vincent grasps the gearshift and shifts down. He explains how much he values the fact that people in Tholen still greet each other on the street, that you still talk to your neighbours. \u201cI don\u2019t encounter this anymore in the large cities. Newcomers no longer want to assimilate <\/em>and this is detrimental to our Judeo-Christian humanist values and, in the end, it is detrimental to our identity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tholen won\u2019t be changing anytime soon, but Vincent\u2019s plans for the future extend beyond the dikes of Zeeland. His political ambitions have not escaped the party leadership\u2019s notice in The Hague: last week he sat down for a cup of coffee with \u2018Geert\u2019 himself. \u201cI really enjoyed it. We talked about our watches, German cars, and of course we discussed politics.\u201d<\/p>\n

The places a job on the side can take you \u2013 and it turns out you can apply for the job again in four years\u2019 time.<\/p>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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