note 69

Later, in the 1990s, the polder model had fallen victim to severe criticism because the ‘multi-cultural’ society of the Netherlands appeared to contain many unformulated and unexpressed feelings of hate and distress. The polder model, with its inclination for compromise, had functioned like a pressure cooker, preventing the expression of diversity. During the 0+Ball, the second case study that I will discuss in chapter 4, the first signs of a questioning of the polder model surfaced when some of the American guests queried the actual setting up of the ball. They missed the political polarization which they were used to in the United States and which they considered as a prerequisite for political action to succeed. Till today, Dutch politics have been characterized by the ‘polder’ mentality but the political climate has changed a lot. Acting like a ‘satellite’ of the USA, the Dutch government and media seem to have lost their independence and capacity to orchestrate deviant opinions in constructive ways.