Harteveld believes that mayors, and politicians in general, should be even better at communicating “that there are more flavors in our society”. He mentions as an example people who fear for the survival of their company and therefore turn against the measures, a group that has very different motivations and may want to enter into a dialogue faster than, for example, the group of people who downplay corona.
The political scientist sees that people who are in favor of corona measures sometimes think that the other side is more radical, more principled and more extreme than they actually are. “The same applies the other way around. With regard to polarized topics, incorrect assumptions arise in both camps about how big the difference of opinion actually is.” And that, he says, encourages additional polarization.
Positive signal
President of the Security Council Hubert Bruls announced yesterday that it is in any case not the intention to enter into a discussion with the “small group of instigators”, but with the large group of people who are susceptible to arguments. A positive signal, thinks political scientist Harteveld.
“Indeed, I would extend it beyond trying to reach out to principled vaccine refusers or rioters on the street,” he says. “Those people are part of a very specific group that has lost confidence for some time.”
According to him, it is better to focus on the broader discussion about how we deal with corona in the Netherlands. “There are also very different views on this. It is not the case that these groups are also rioting, but it is a source of tension in society.”
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