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Online vitriol could undo decades of political progress, warns Dutch deputy PM who steps down (www.theguardian.com)
submitted 1 year ago by 0x815@feddit.de to c/europe@feddit.de
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"I think it’s quite sick, frankly,” said Sigrid Kaag, a former UN diplomat who until recently helmed Democrats 66 (D66), a progressive, socially liberal and pro-European party in the Netherlands. “The tone and the intimidation and the easy threats that are issued via social media against a broad range of people serving in the public domain … it’s become so rampant that I really feel it’s up to politicians to draw a line in the sand.”

Earlier this year Kaag, 61, announced she had decided to step down rather than lead her party in the Netherlands’ upcoming general elections. At the time she pointed to the toll that the years of “hate, intimidation and threats” had taken on her husband and children. “I just couldn’t do this to them again,” she said.

Her departure adds to the growing list of high-profile female politicians who have turned their backs on politics, from Finland’s Sanna Marin to Scotland’s Mhairi Black.

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[–] autotldr@lemmings.world 3 points 1 year ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Speaking to the Guardian, Kaag warned the shift threatened to roll back decades of progress when it comes to the political participation of women, minorities and people of colour.

“The tone and the intimidation and the easy threats that are issued via social media against a broad range of people serving in the public domain … it’s become so rampant that I really feel it’s up to politicians to draw a line in the sand.”

Her departure adds to the growing list of high-profile female politicians who have turned their backs on politics, from Finland’s Sanna Marin to Scotland’s Mhairi Black.

After resigning in February, Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s former first minister, signalled the deteriorating climate for female politicians, describing the current environment as “much harsher and more hostile” than any other time in her decades-long career.

Kaag traced her own experience with online hate to 2017 when rumours began circulating about her return home to join the government after decades of high-profile international work.

Her husband, Anis al-Qaq, served as a deputy minister and ambassador to Switzerland for the Palestinian Authority before co-founding the International Forum for Peace in the Middle East.

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