Our current political system makes problems bigger. That has to change!
Despite, or perhaps because of, our indirect parliamentary democracy, a great deal has gone wrong in recent years. Think, for example, of the childcare benefits scandal and the earthquake damage in Groningen. Power, and the checks on power, have failed. This still has far-reaching consequences. People were not put first, and that has caused major problems for those involved.
No more influence after the elections
After the elections, the power and influence of citizens largely comes to an end. In an indirect parliamentary democracy, citizens elect representatives who make decisions for them. Partly because of this system, too much power has been taken away from the citizen and placed with the representatives. The plans and ideas from the party manifestos that citizens voted for are barely recognizable in the final decision-making. On top of that, they have little to no way to influence, adjust, or remove points. All power over the final decision-making has been 100% taken away from citizens.
Citizens really no longer have any power
In the current political system, citizens have no influence over who forms a coalition with whom. They also have no influence on the coalition agreement and the plans within it. This affects the quality of decision-making, and partly because of this there is little to no trust in politics and little support for the plans they intend to carry out. Within the current political system this can no longer be changed. As a result, 7 cabinets have fallen in the Netherlands since 2000. Then the whole democratic process starts all over again and new elections are called. That has to, and can, be different!
Power must return to the citizen, however difficult that may be
This really has to change! As My Vote Counts! The Citizens’ Initiative, we want to peacefully reclaim that decision-making power and authority. We therefore continue to take part in the current political system in order to realize these ideals. This is necessary because a constitutional amendment is required to make our ideal of a political system based on binding referendums a reality.
Transparent decision-making processes
Better insight into the political decision-making process can help people take power back into their own hands and stop giving it away. This is not easy, since power is hard to let go of. Look at the recent Rutte cabinets, in which quite a few poor constitutional decisions were made. Plenty of examples can also be found abroad.
My Vote Counts! The Citizens’ Initiative wants no part of power
The main goal of My Vote Counts! The Citizens’ Initiative is the introduction of a system of binding referendums. Once that has been achieved, this party will dissolve itself again. We will then move toward a system in which power no longer lies with a single individual, but with the population. That way, we also do away with the political games that are so often played.
