'Election promises for education often not kept'
After each election, education receives an average of 600 million euros less than the political parties promised in advance in their campaigns. That is what PhD candidate Wimar Bolhuis calculated. The good news is, campaigning helps.
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"Promise much, give little, makes a madman live in joy." Or, more modernly: "Tried before the election, screwed after the election." Wimar Bolhuis has seen more variations on this theme, which always refer to the same phenomenon: that education almost always receives less money after the elections than the political parties promised beforehand.
Bolhuis was an employee of the PvdA in the House of Representatives and then moved to the Ministry of Finance. In both positions he saw from a fairly close distance how the Central Planning Bureau (CPB) calculated the consequences of the party programs during election time. He decided to compare the proposed political plans with the calculations of the final coalition agreements - and therefore with the outcome of those plans.
'Promising money attracts votes'
When Bolhuis had everything sorted out, it was first of all noticeable that all parties in their election programs often promise the same thing over the years. “Everyone always promises lower costs for citizens, fewer civil servants and more money for education. That works well with the voters, it attracts votes. ”
After the elections, the result is often disappointing. At least, from the perspective of citizens and education. "Often little comes of the tax cuts for citizens, and education receives an average of 600 million euros less than promised in the election programs."
A company wants to make a profit, political parties want to attract voters. So they promise more than they can deliver.
Bolhuis explains this phenomenon from the perspective of 'political economy'. “A company wants to make a profit, political parties want to attract voters. So they promise more than they can deliver. ”
Mat and spawn
According to Bolhuis, the principle of political economy is also the reason that there are almost never enormous tax cuts for businesses in the election programs. “Companies don't vote, it's the citizens who vote. So you have to try to please citizens in your program. ” Companies are only discussed later: when drafting the coalition agreement. “They are then measured. Almost every coalition agreement contains tax benefits for companies that were not in the election manifestos. ”
Businesses hamper, voters placate: doesn't it make Bolhuis cynical? “Well, I research the political game, and apparently that's how it is played. What's more, everyone now focuses on those 20 to 30 percent of election promises that are not being kept. But our politicians do keep 70 to 80 percent of the promises. We are not doing badly internationally with that. ”
Taking action helps
Although it is a bit of a shame that education always misses out on an average of around 600 million euros. But Bolhuis has good news: campaigning helps. “The only year since 1986 in which education clearly got more than was stated in the election manifestos is 2017. That is the year of the major education campaigns that continued into 2018. In an upward economy, politicians can apparently find money to meet people who take action. My tip to education would be: keep doing this. ”
