Populisms In The Netherlands And In US Are Similar But Different

The Dutch election next week is getting a lot of attention because a candidate, who some compare to Donald Trump, has exploited a populist trend to rise to the top of the polls.  Dutch populism is described in this article.  Many liberals oppose Muslim fundamentalism because it is conservative.  Conservatives are more concerned about Muslim immigration because it is one of many factors that they associate with the loss of national identity along with globalization and the perceived loss of national sovereignty because of the European Union.  Dutch populists would like to turn the clock back to some imaginary era that was more traditional.  They share that sentiment with many populists in the US who are concerned about multiculturalism and the loss of traditional values that they associate with the past.

Its not easy to define national identity in the Netherlands because regional identity is more salient than a national identity.  Secularism is more common around Amsterdam and the coastal region but there are political and cultural divisions between protestant and Catholic regions of the county .  The Dutch soccer team is perhaps one of the few sources of national identity.  There are regional political and cultural differences in the US as well.  It is easier to see the political and cultural differences in both nations than it is to locate national identities in either country.  On the other hand, populism in the US and in The Netherlands share one thing in common.  There is a strong resentment in both countries against cosmopolitan elites who do not share their values, and who look down on those below them in social and economic status.

The populist resentment in the US, that won the election for Donald Trump, is reflected in the powerful changes in the white vote.  In 1984 Ronald Reagan swept the general election.  In particular, he won 24% of white voters with a college education and he won 32% of the votes from white voters without a college degree.  That trend reversed itself by 1992.  The Democratic and Republican share of the white vote for college and non college educated voters was close to equal in 1992.  Since 1992 the Republican share of college educated white voters has declined.  The Republican margin was only 4% for McCain in 2008 and for Trump in 2016.  The Republican margin of the non-college educated white voters has increased dramatically since 1992.  Donald Trump won 39% of the votes from white voters without a college degree in the 2016 election.  He did better than Ronald Reagan did in 1984 when he became a Republican hero by capturing the vote of blue collar workers who normally supported the Democratic Party.  Trump's margin over Clinton among college educated white voters was only 4%.  The populist trend in the US is defined by the resentment of non-college educated voters who have not done well economically.  Donald Trump  captured their vote by attacking the elite political class which has not listened to them, and also by inflaming their concerns about national identity and their position in a multicultural nation.

While the Dutch and many Americans have fallen under the spell of populism,  the impact is much greater politically in the US.  There are numerous political parties in The Netherlands,  The Dutch populist will win a lot of votes but he will have to participate in a coalition of political parties that will dilute his influence.  Donald Trump has become the leader of the Republican Party which controls Congress as well as the White House.  He has a radical agenda for the US and the power to make major changes in the most powerful nation in the world.  The entire world will be watching anxiously for changes in the US political system and in Trumps international policies.