The upcoming parliamentary elections are another reminder of how different Northern Europe is from the Global South. Campaign time in my childhood was noisy, dirty, with animosity everywhere. Political parties constantly drove around town on their loudspeaker-laden trucks delivering campaign jingles, diatribes, and plain insults. Walls were permanently papered with posters that bared witness to the last election. The affairs are quite different in The Netherlands. Except for debates, you hardly hear anything. Posters are essentially non-existent. What you see are stands displaying pictures of the candidates. All pictures are of equal size. After the elections, the stand is removed. Life goes on.
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