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Dutch Give Low Support to Double Nationality
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Opinions on permitting dual citizenship are divided in the Netherlands, according to a poll by Maurice de Hond. 45 per cent of respondents think the country should allow people to hold double nationality, while 32 per cent believe it should be forbidden for everybody to have more than one.
Dutch voters renewed the Second Chamber in November 2006. The governing Christian-Democratic Appeal (CDA) of minister president Jan Peter Balkenende secured 41 of the 150 seats at stake. In February, a coalition encompassing the CDA, the Labour Party (PvdA) of Wouter Bos, and the Christian Union (CU) of Andre Rouvouet was assembled.
On Feb. 15, Geert Wilders, leader of the opposition Party for Freedom (PvdV), tabled a motion which sought to block the appointment of any person holding dual citizenship to cabinet. PvdA lawmaker Ahmed Aboutaleb has a Moroccan passport, and fellow party member Nebahat Albayrak has a Turkish passport. Both Aboutaleb and Albayrak are Dutch citizens.
On Mar. 2, Dutch lawmakers rejected Wilders' motion. Balkenende said he has "no doubts" on Albayrak's and Aboutaleb's loyalties to the Netherlands.
On Mar. 9, Aboutaleb criticized Wilders, declaring, "I have been thinking about it the past few days and getting increasingly angry about it. (...) The motion was a sign that (Wilders does not) want to have confidence in people."
Around one million Dutch citizens hold passports from another country.
Polling Data
What is your opinion in the discussion concerning double nationality in our country?
Allow double nationality always | 45% |
Forbid government officials from having double nationality | 20% |
Forbid everyone from having double nationality | 32% |
Not sure | 3% |
Source: Maurice de Hond
Methodology: Interviews with 1,000 Dutch adults, conducted on Mar. 17, 2007. No margin of error was provided.