[Music]
a stable
orderly country that prides itself on a
reputation for efficiency
and compliance
rocked by discontent these public
rampages were initially seen as a
response to the netherlands first curfew
since the nazi occupation in the second
world war
in reality the tensions had been
spreading
i think this country is hurting right
now
it's in pain this is sylvana simmons a
dutch celebrity who recently launched
her own political party
she thinks the unrest exposed an
undercurrent of resentment
across generations what we're seeing
right now is
just this country reaping what it has
sowed the netherlands have always
projected an image which i call a facade
of reason of being reasonable of being
progressive
and tolerant and open um but what it
really was it was just
on the surface if your education system
is not working then this is what you get
if your economic system is not working
then this is what you get if your social
system isn't working this is what you
get
and if you've been pushing politics of
division
for 15 years 20 years then this is what
you get
the combination of the covert related
lockdown here alongside a child care
allowance
scandal which last month caused the
sudden collapse of the coalition
government
has had a destabilizing impact and added
to the sense of a country losing its
grip
those who were already frustrated felt
emboldened vindicated
because the government had broken its
own rules
it created a perfect storm there's no
pandemic now
the world health organization declared
the covet-19 outbreak a pandemic in
march last year
the instability though has given rise to
characters who've cultivated followings
with their movements speaking out
against restrictions imposed on their
freedoms
dance teacher willem engel is one of the
most visible skeptics of corona
i understand the the feeling of
hopelessness
i understand the feeling of agitation
and aggression of the people
committing that violence however i do
not think that is the right way
you know you have the power to stop the
people confronting politicians in their
faces
i want them to confront politicians so
why would i
try trying not to get them to do that
despite more than 100 million confirmed
cases and 2.2 million deaths across
nearly 200 countries his group virus
truth which has 52 000 facebook
followers
doesn't believe the coronavirus pandemic
exists
this as well as other covert related
conspiracy theories anti-vaxx and q anon
have been gaining support here
even attracting influential celebrities
who galvanized others with their
rallying cry against the lockdown on
social media
via the hashtag ichdunit mermaid i'm not
doing it anymore
the only thing that is destabilizing our
society
are dumb covert rules
many of these celebrities have since
apologized and u-turned
but not all rapper and podcast host
langer france
sees his music as a vehicle to speak out
against government policy
one of his most well-known songs the
land of became the unofficial anthem of
the protest
being the soundtrack to critical
thinking is a big honor yeah because
the people who are protesting they're
just thinking like
what what's going on in the world this
is not necessary
for something like the flu patients with
covert were nearly five times
more likely to die than those with the
flu according to a study in the british
medical journal
faceless claims and medical
misinformation
combined with popular q anon slogans in
his songs
are believed to be the reason the
artist's channel was taken down off
youtube
i don't know about the whole cue or none
thing and how you should call it i think
that there are a lot of people who are
against pedophiles and they believe in
god
and if that's the same thing as q anon
then we'll wear the badge proudly
but of course q anon is so much more
than just this
at its heart it's a wide-ranging
completely unfounded theory that says
that donald trump is waging a secret
war against satan worshiping paedophile
elites
believers draw in news events historical
facts and numerology
to develop their own far-fetched
conclusions one of the smallest
countries on the continent
the netherlands now has one of the
largest q anon followings
it sometimes feels as if some of the
seeds of discontent that have flourished
in the u.s
may be sown here too but why
i mean this was never a country of big
conspiracy theories
um but when we do things apparently we
do them right
and it's easy to find yourself believing
those things if you are not well
informed
because if you don't know the truth
anything could be true don't over
exaggerate
the amount of people who represent them
it's i believe it's
once again things can change i can be
wrong for the future but today
it's not like it is in the united states
of america
gert wilders a famously anti-islam
politician who's been one of the most
outspoken populist voices in dutch
politics for almost
two decades he was recently convicted of
insulting moroccans
he's also the country's opposition
leader
are you worried by the presence of these
types of characters the q anon groups
the villain engels
and the threat that they potentially
pose to the stability of dutch society
of course i mean they are not a huge
group fortunately
but they should be dealt with in the
most severe way because in a way they
first they try to use violence or
intimidation at least
which is something that we should never
accept but they also stop the democratic
process of parliamentarians whatever
party you are from that are as you said
being
hassled going to parliament or doing
their job just because of their views
the success of any coveted policy relies
upon mass compliance
neighbours germany and belgium have
similar lockdowns in place and most
dutch people have now accepted the
draconian constraints
bars and restaurants are closed and all
non-essential shops are shut
a 9pm curfew's in place until at least
next month
we've been traveling around the country
and speaking to people who are losing
faith in the system
they saw the u-turns over the covered
response
they saw the benefits scandal the
government collapse
the last in the eu to start vaccinating
people
and they're finding themselves asking
where do i find the truth
and they're increasingly searching in
places where the conspiracy theories
are spinning around does that worry you
yes there is a small group of people
from the start
who disagreed with the government and
when they disagreed because they were
not saying there was not a virus
but they were telling us you are not
taking the necessary measures
and then we have always tried to engage
in a dialogue
and to discuss but the amount of people
netherlands who really are saying
we are open to the conspiracy theorists
is a very small number but there is a
real risk
ignoring or dismissing the
dissatisfaction
will push some of those who already feel
forgotten closer to the edge
and fuel the emphademic although the
uncertainty
could funnel some voters back to more
familiar territory
the netherlands has a multi-party system
which makes it virtually impossible for
any one party to win power
and the checks and balances here i mean
those
ripples of unrest we're seeing are
unlikely to turn into the types of waves
that could really
change the direction of this parliament
the irony is a man once viewed as one of
its most extreme members
is now sounding comparatively moderate
we are in a crisis you know and in a
crisis
people like to look at stability for me
as an opposition leader
it's my task to tell them that that is
not
reality and that there are better
options than him
but of course i have to deal with it
that as in many other european countries
the current prime ministers our
presidents
are looking as more stable factors today
truth and freedom
promised and promoted by politicians
from across the spectrum
who can deliver them in the context of
the covet crisis
might just decide the outcome of
europe's first election
of 2021