this post was submitted on 03 Nov 2023
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Online vitriol could undo decades of political progress, warns Dutch deputy PM who steps down (www.theguardian.com)
submitted 10 months ago by 0x815@feddit.de to c/europe@feddit.de
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"I think it’s quite sick, frankly,” said Sigrid Kaag, a former UN diplomat who until recently helmed Democrats 66 (D66), a progressive, socially liberal and pro-European party in the Netherlands. “The tone and the intimidation and the easy threats that are issued via social media against a broad range of people serving in the public domain … it’s become so rampant that I really feel it’s up to politicians to draw a line in the sand.”

Earlier this year Kaag, 61, announced she had decided to step down rather than lead her party in the Netherlands’ upcoming general elections. At the time she pointed to the toll that the years of “hate, intimidation and threats” had taken on her husband and children. “I just couldn’t do this to them again,” she said.

Her departure adds to the growing list of high-profile female politicians who have turned their backs on politics, from Finland’s Sanna Marin to Scotland’s Mhairi Black.

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[–] taladar@feddit.de 29 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I am not sure about other countries but here in Germany there seems to be a lot of vitriol in traditional media and in-person events too in recent years (since roughly the start of the pandemic), mostly by conservative parties and groups as well as content produced by conservative media (e.g. BILD). There also does not seem that "anonymity" effect people always claimed about online vitriol, people seem to be just fine spreading hate under their own name.

[–] 0x815@feddit.de 9 points 10 months ago

I fully agree. It's not only online media but rather the entire public debate that gets increasingly poisened, including those of many politicians from the right as well as the left.