Elections in the Netherlands

[Hazir]

I just voted in two elections. One for the water management board of my district and the other for the Provincial states which subsequently will elect our senate.

The first vote I cast was for a new party that won me over with their promise to strive for the abolition of appointed members. This also was the first time in my life I cast a vote for a trans woman.

The second vote was for the party of the PM because I don't want the present government to be forced out of office due to a too small senate minority.

[Flixy]

I still have to vote. For the second one I will vote for the party whose voting record matches best with my views in the past years. For water management I'm not sure yet - to be honest it's a local election and I dont know if I'll live here in a few years, and water management is in this region mostly important for farmers etc which I'm not. I can't really assess the impact of the party plans..

[Unheard Of]

This also was the first time in my life I cast a vote for a trans woman.

Did you have the opportunity to vote for any trans people in previous elections? We've had trans councillors for several years and at least one trans mayor for the city, and it prompted less fuss than I expected.

EDIT: When the Lib Dems held the council they introduced a policy against discrimination against transgender people. Labour revoked the policy late last year

[Hazir]

Did you have the opportunity to vote for any trans people in previous elections? We've had trans councillors for several years and at least one trans mayor for the city, and it prompted less fuss than I expected.

EDIT: When the Lib Dems held the council they introduced a policy against discrimination against transgender people. Labour revoked the policy late last year

If, then I wasn't aware of it. Usually you have literally hundreds of candidates to choose from so you typically know nobody except the highest placed on the lists. But in this case I read their platform, thought they were proposing overal reasonable things, but what won me over was the abolition of appointed members. These are appointed by special interest groups like farmers. I am a bit surprised that Flixy thinks this is a matter for farmers and the likes. The decision of these Water Boards do have very direct effects on our environment and taxes we pay for maintenance. I'm sure they did last year what was good for the farmers, but it still meant dried up public spaces in an area which technically is under the water level. Which I think is a matter of concern.

[Flixy]

It is, but I live in a province which is entirely above sea level. The balance between nature and farmers is a thing here but we have no polders in my district.

[Hazir]

Interesting results. The government lost the majority. Populist parties partly cannibalized each other with the newest iteration making a shock entry. But interestingly enough traditional parties kept an easy majority enabling the government to continue in office.