“Strategic voters are voters who know very well what their political preferences are, but who view which party to vote for out of strategic considerations,” Myers explains.

“It actually mainly comes down to a question of which party they trust to enter the tower.”

The electoral system is expressive

“In the Netherlands we have an expressive electoral system. Each party represents a specific political colour, so there is something to suit all tastes. This means you can vote very accurately,” says Myers. “On the one hand, very beautiful.”

“But it also means we have a lot of division. You can enter the House with one seat, and that can become very difficult to manage. That’s why some voters want to concentrate their votes and therefore vote more strategically.”

Bandwagon effect

“Polls provide a lot of information,” Myers says. “They indicate what other people think and that can be of great importance. We know from the scientific literature that there is such a thing as Bandwagon effect“.

“That means you choose a particular party because other voters do. You jump on the bandwagon. In that sense, polls can certainly play a role.”