National political trends, such as fragmentation of parties and a decline in trust in politics, are impacting local and provincial governance. At the same time, decentralized governance has its own unique character, with many local parties and politicians having a strong connection to the community. This is evident from the State of Governance 2024, a biennial report on the state of democracy and public governance in the Netherlands.

The report shows that it is difficult for local and provincial governance to be assessed as an independent governing layer by voters. On one hand, there are many local political parties in municipal councils and executives, with highly motivated representatives. This indicates democracy close to home. At the same time, this has a narrow base as only a limited portion of the residents are actively involved in democracy. The visibility of decentralized governance remains limited, and many people view it through a national lens. This is not surprising given the national challenges, which often concretely impact municipalities, provinces, and water authorities.

We also see other trends at the decentralized level; think of increasing aggression and intimidation towards political office holders, and declining voter satisfaction with the functioning of democracy. Additionally, there is increasing political fragmentation and turnover in decentralized governance. This has consequences for the duration of coalition formation and contributes to a less stable image of decentralized governance.

The report further shows that people appreciate living in a democratic rule of law. However, this image is not uniform. There appear to be different opinions about what democratic values are. Large groups of voters believe that the majority should decide, even if it comes at the expense of the rights of minorities. To the question of whether the majority should decide even if it is at the expense of the interests of the minority, nearly 30 percent agree. A large group of voters also believes that a strong leader may stretch the rules to achieve the desired outcome; 36 percent agree with this.

There is also nuance regarding trust in institutions. For instance, people generally have a lot of trust in judges, the press, and the electoral process. However, trust in the House of Representatives and the government is generally low and subject to significant fluctuations.

This is the tenth time that the Ministry of Interior and Kingdom Relations publishes the State of Governance, now expanded with the years 2023 and 2024. This offers the opportunity to look back over a longer period and gives reason to look ahead. Therefore, this edition has also been accompanied by an essay collection, in which external authors shed light on the public governance of the future. Furthermore, the State this time also provides insight into democracy and governance in the public entities of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba.

The renewed dashboard www.staatvanhetbestuurdashboard.nl has been added to the State of Governance 2024. This provides the most important figures and long-term trends from the State at a glance. The figures in this dashboard will be updated in real-time as often as possible.