I was born and raised in the countryside and moved to Amsterdam when I started going to university there. Because of my background I pretty much feel like I live in two worlds. The Netherlands may be small, but differences between the urban and rural regions are probably as big as they are anywhere. I’m very pleased with the result, which reflects the outcome of the referendum held in 2005 with regard to the European constitution. That result also shows that Eurosceptic sentiments have been present for a long time. I do not necessarily see an increase. Instead, there might be more awareness among politicians that Dutch voters are sceptic about a political union with other countries, especially countries we lack common ground with. There was a 27.2 percent turnout in Amsterdam and a majority, 53.1 percent, voted for the treaty. This is in line with the impression I got, although I have to say that most of my friends and colleagues did not have a strong opinion on the matter.

It has become clear from polls that Dutch citizens with a lower educational background voted overwhelmingly against the treaty and that those with a higher educational background were divided. I come from a small town outside of the urban regions of the Netherlands and the EU sentiment is radically different there from the sentiment held within the cities, with the exception of Rotterdam. Also worth noting a large percentage of citizens didn’t vote because they felt politicians would discard the outcome anyway.

The Netherlands does not have a single-issue, anti-EU party. Those who would like to vote against the EU have to choose between the far-right of Geert Wilders or the far-left parties. For voters like me, who thoroughly disagree with other opinions held by members of these parties, a referendum is a great opportunity to express anti-EU sentiments and to deliver the message that something has to change.

A discussion has started in The Netherlands about the referendum itself as a democratic instrument. Several people feel that the referendum was a joke and that the conditions that have to be met are, apparently, not strict enough. I tend to disagree in the sense that I think GeenStijl accomplished something incredible. The referendum is a great example of a bottom-up initiative to change national policy and I feel it is incredible over 30% turned up to vote for something most politicians did not bother paying proper attention to.