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Mood swings

Original title: Stemming onbestemd

Many Dutch citizens are negative in their attitudes towards politics and pessimistic about the way Dutch society is developing. How changeable are those views? What are people most discontented about? What are the biggest complaints from angry citizens when they are given a chance to say in their own words what they feel is going wrong? Who are the committed citizens, and how do their views on social and political issues differ? And how do migrants perceive the Netherlands and its complaining indigenous population?
These are some of the questions that are addressed in the second special study for the Citizens' Outlooks Barometer (COB). The first study, which appeared in October 2009 under the title Crisis on the horizon? (Crisis in aantocht?), focused mainly on the situation in 2008. This time we analyse material drawn from surveys and focus groups held in 2009 and 2010. In order to place the findings in some perspective, we also draw freely on data from recent decades, as well as from international survey research. In addition, four guest authors, all journalists, offer an international perspective, presenting an outsider's take on current developments in Dutch politics and public opinion.