Political campaigning fairer in the Netherlands

When I was a candidate for the Dutch Party for the Animals in the 2004 EU elections in the Netherlands, the campaign consisted of handing out leaflets on the street and putting up posters on billboards in every city, town and village across the country. Every political party is allocated one spot on the billboard, and this helps voters become aware of which parties and candidates are contesting the elections.

The other main outreach method was the media; we had articles in regional newspapers, we were on the radio and regional/national TV. The support of about 10 celebrities (actors, authors, artists, TV presenters, etc.) on our party list ('list-pushers') attracted a lot of media and public attention. And we participated in debates across the country. I spoke at a highschool and my former agricultural college, and participated in a 2h popular national radio show. The lead candidate, Marianne Thieme, participated in a large number of debates, talkshows and interviews. We received over 153,000 votes, which was just short of a seat in the European Parliament.

Except for the leaflets, none of the tactics are used in the UK during election periods. As far as I understand there is an 'interview' ban in the media, although some MEPs or candidate MEPs do feature in newspapers or TV, so the rules are not clear. The only means of outreach here seem to be the old-fashioned leaflet and the modern way of using the internet. But to reach every household in a region, a party requires more than £30,000 to print leaflets. Smaller parties are usually not able to raise these funds. Hence, more-established parties will already be at an advantage and it doesn't seem to be in their interest to change the campaigning rules.

Let's hope people will see that many politicians are into politics to progress their own career and to enrich themselves, while Animals Count will be defending the overwhelming majority in society who need our support most; the animals. Vote for Animals Count on 4th June in the Eastern region!