“Half of the Dutch think that the Orange should not play at the World Cup in Qatar” Inland

The World Cup in Qatar is getting closer (starting November 20) and with that the discussion about how to deal with human rights in the country is also getting higher. For example, D66 and ChristenUnie do not want the king to travel to the football tournament in a country that violates the rights of migrant workers. Minister Wopke Hoekstra of Foreign Affairs should go instead, followed by the Dutch human rights ambassador, as the two parties submitted a motion in the House of Representatives today. With a ‘businesslike and frugal’ delegation, according to D66 and ChristenUnie, the Netherlands should ‘approach’ Qatar about the human rights situation and argue for a ‘large compensation fund’ for labor migrants.

Earlier, the House called on the cabinet in February 2021 for a diplomatic boycott of the World Cup in Qatar. Many migrant workers lost their lives during the construction of stadiums due to appalling working conditions. The cabinet decided yesterday to deviate from that adopted motion, because Qatar was an important partner in the evacuation of people from Afghanistan and for the export of LNG, liquefied gas, and yet a government delegation (which may include the king and/or Prime Minister Rutte).

EenVandaag examined the feelings of the Dutch people about the upcoming tournament and the decision of the cabinet. 25,102 members of the EenVandaag Opiniepanel participated and 65 percent of them are against the decision taken by the cabinet. Among them are many people who vote for one of the four coalition parties. A quarter of the people agree to send a government delegation.

When it comes to sending King Willem-Alexander to Qatar, 75 percent of the participants in the survey are clear: don’t do it. 18 percent of the people think that the Netherlands should do that. We see approximately the same percentages when asked whether Prime Minister Mark Rutte should travel to Qatar: again 75 percent are against that idea, 17 percent of the people agree.

Also read: Reactions to Qatar visit: ‘Wondering whether the king is really going, despite the majority being against’

An even ‘extreme’ scenario that was presented to the panel by EenVandaag is that the Orange should refrain from participating in the tournament. In January of this year, 45 percent of people thought that was still a good idea, now (the survey was conducted yesterday and today) it is already 53 percent.

Even among Orange supporters, the agreement with the scenario is growing. 45 percent of football fans do not want Orange to participate in the tournament.’