Young people less satisfied with how King Willem-Alexander fulfills his role

NOS News•today, 07:00

Confidence in King Willem-Alexander has been structurally lower than before since the corona crisis, but now appears to be stabilizing somewhat. Support for the monarchy is also no longer at the level it was before the corona crisis, but the form of government can count on support from a small majority of the population.

This is evident from the annual NOS King’s Day survey, which was conducted halfway this month by research agency Ipsos I&O among 1015 people. There are striking differences between young people and older people.

The Dutch rate King Willem-Alexander with a 6.6. That is comparable to the 6.5 he received last year, but considerably lower than the 7.7 he could count on in 2020.

That year the king still gained the confidence of three-quarters of the population. Since then, confidence in him has fallen, to 44 percent in 2024. So there is no question of recovery, although the group that has (very) little confidence in the king has not grown further this year.

Young people (18-35 years) and older people (55 years or older) think differently about the king’s performance. Last year, 51 percent of young people said they were satisfied with the king, now that is 41 percent. At 47 percent, older people are almost as satisfied with Willem-Alexander as they were a year earlier.

There is also a difference between generations when it comes to assessing the qualities of the king. For example, half of the elderly find the king ‘involved’, compared to only 29 percent of the young. Older people also often find Willem-Alexander ‘human’ and ‘compassionate’.

Young people are more satisfied with the way Willem-Alexander acts in the media. They think the king appears ‘natural’ and ‘professional’ more often than older people. Incidentally, all generations think that the king appears less ‘awkward’ in the media.

There is a growing group that does not find it desirable if the king, who is inviolable, were to express his opinion in public on politically sensitive issues (30 percent, compared to 25 percent last year). This corresponds to the level before the corona period.

Queen Máxima gets a 7.3, just like last year. Older people (almost three quarters) are more often satisfied with the queen’s performance than younger people (more than half). The percentage of interviewees who have fairly or very much confidence in the queen is 56 percent higher than in the king (44 percent).

Princess Amalia’s rating is also unchanged with a 7.0. Many Dutch people have a positive impression of the princess. She is called ‘mature’, ‘smart’, ‘involved’, ‘ambitious’, ‘motivated’ and ‘a good successor’.

Support for the monarchy remains stable compared to recent years, but is much lower than before the corona crisis. A number of missteps by the royal family during that crisis have had an effect on support for the monarchy as a form of government, the researchers conclude. Among other things, the holiday in Greece during a lockdown is mentioned. Four years later, according to them, there appears to be permanent damage.

The question of whether the image of the monarchy will improve if the princesses are given a greater public role is divisive. More than 30 percent expect that this will indeed have a positive influence, but more than 40 percent do not think so.

The fact that the monarch’s eldest child is automatically heir to the throne can count on the support of almost half of the Dutch. After years of decline, support for that tradition now appears to be stabilizing.

The king and his family traditionally visit a municipality in the Netherlands on King’s Day, such as Emmen this year. Half of the Dutch appreciate this official way in which King’s Day is celebrated. And a large majority believes it is an important tradition that connects Dutch people. Although older people clearly attach more importance to this tradition than younger people.