Online vitriol could undo decades of political progress, warns Dutch deputy PM who steps down
Online vitriol could undo decades of political progress, warns Dutch deputy PM who steps down
Sigrid Kaag is latest high-profile female politician to quit, citing years of ‘hate, intimidation and threats’
"I think it’s quite sick, frankly,” said Sigrid Kaag, a former UN diplomat who until recently helmed Democrats 66 (D66), a progressive, socially liberal and pro-European party in the Netherlands. “The tone and the intimidation and the easy threats that are issued via social media against a broad range of people serving in the public domain … it’s become so rampant that I really feel it’s up to politicians to draw a line in the sand.”
Earlier this year Kaag, 61, announced she had decided to step down rather than lead her party in the Netherlands’ upcoming general elections. At the time she pointed to the toll that the years of “hate, intimidation and threats” had taken on her husband and children. “I just couldn’t do this to them again,” she said.
Her departure adds to the growing list of high-profile female politicians who have turned their backs on politics, from Finland’s Sanna Marin to Scotland’s Mhairi Black.
I am not sure about other countries but here in Germany there seems to be a lot of vitriol in traditional media and in-person events too in recent years (since roughly the start of the pandemic), mostly by conservative parties and groups as well as content produced by conservative media (e.g. BILD). There also does not seem that "anonymity" effect people always claimed about online vitriol, people seem to be just fine spreading hate under their own name.
I fully agree. It's not only online media but rather the entire public debate that gets increasingly poisened, including those of many politicians from the right as well as the left.
It doesn’t really help that other politicians kept calling her “witch” even during “debates”.
Politics really is fucked these days, huh?
I’m actually a bit hopefull with the rise of NSC and PvdA/GL. The prime minister from the last 13 years has decided to quit next election so that’s good too. The FVD has gone so far off the rails that it’s costing them a significant amount of votes and many of their members have split off into smaller parties.
Kaag refused to help a woman with a sexual harrassment case against one of Kaag's confidants, going so far as ignoring an independent inquiry into the matter that stated that the case was credible. She covered for her friend for months until the story broke.
Also, this is just kind of funny but it goes to show how deeply out of touch she is. When asked what challenges she had faced as a woman, she talked about the very difficult decision she had to make between two top-tier private universities. Really had it tough there huh. Really a struggle of the working woman. Boy howdy.
And Rutte. My god. This man is the source of so much evil, I can't even begin to describe it. He broke our social security down and we will likely never build it up again. The poor are poorer and the netherlands is now a tax haven for the rich. Fuck Rutte. Every word out of his mouth is a blight upon this land. I spit on his legacy.
Also, didn't Sturgeon commit like some serious fraud?
I know about Rutte and agree with what you've said. Recently I read he is 'interested' in a Nato job (Stoltenberg is about to retire soon), but I do hope they'll find someone else.
Did't know about Kaag, though. Thanks for the comments.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Speaking to the Guardian, Kaag warned the shift threatened to roll back decades of progress when it comes to the political participation of women, minorities and people of colour.
“The tone and the intimidation and the easy threats that are issued via social media against a broad range of people serving in the public domain … it’s become so rampant that I really feel it’s up to politicians to draw a line in the sand.”
Her departure adds to the growing list of high-profile female politicians who have turned their backs on politics, from Finland’s Sanna Marin to Scotland’s Mhairi Black.
After resigning in February, Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s former first minister, signalled the deteriorating climate for female politicians, describing the current environment as “much harsher and more hostile” than any other time in her decades-long career.
Kaag traced her own experience with online hate to 2017 when rumours began circulating about her return home to join the government after decades of high-profile international work.
Her husband, Anis al-Qaq, served as a deputy minister and ambassador to Switzerland for the Palestinian Authority before co-founding the International Forum for Peace in the Middle East.
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