Political parties regularly include verbatim text from lobbyists in their municipal election manifestos. According to the Open State Foundation, the source of this text is often not disclosed. Working with NOS Bureau Regio, the organisation analysed more than 1,000 election manifestos. It also examined around 2,300 lobbying documents from 37 municipalities using automated text analysis.
The researchers found similarities with lobbying texts in more than 500 election manifestos. In over 100 cases, the lobbying text was copied word for word, often without any attribution. “Lobbying in the Netherlands is not transparent, and we are seeing that again now in the municipal elections,” said Serv Wiemers, director of the Open State Foundation. “It is fine for political parties to be open to input from society, as long as they provide insight into it. And they should not blindly copy texts from lobbyists. Voters must know which interests have been taken into account and how.”
In the run-up to the municipal elections this Wednesday, the researchers approached clerks’ offices in dozens of municipalities. They asked them to share all documents related to lobbying. Election manifestos from local parties in all 342 municipalities were also automatically collected where available. This resulted in a dataset of more than 1,000 manifestos. Software was used to detect both exact copies and broader similarities in content.
Local parties
One example cited by the researchers is a full paragraph from a flyer by the Royal Metal Union. This paragraph appeared in the election manifesto of the CDA in Deventer. The study shows that the issue mainly involves local parties. It also points to a wide range of lobbyists. These include large companies, trade associations, civil society organisations, and government bodies that circulate lobbying texts across multiple municipalities. The researchers stress that the findings provide an initial insight, not a complete overview of all lobbying activity.
The Open State Foundation is calling for clear source attribution in election manifestos and the introduction of local lobby registers. This would make it clearer where information originates. “In most neighbouring countries, lobby transparency is regulated, including at the local level,” Wiemers said. “At the national level, the House of Representatives has been calling for a lobby register for ten years. It has now finally been included in the coalition agreement. The next step is for municipalities to follow.”
@anp | NEWS BRAINPORT
