Ferry Mingelen

Sander Schimmelpenninck investigates the far-reaching influence of social media on our society and politics. To this end, he talks to journalists, moderators, philosophers, lawyers and troll hunters. How does social media use undermine our democracy and why is no one doing anything?

Mark Rutte is followed in his final months as prime minister. He looks back on more than 13 years of leadership and gives a rare glimpse behind the scenes. What do his busy days look like? How does he come to decisions? And what drives him? There are also conversations with (former) politicians and friends.

What does Pim Fortuyn's legacy mean for the Netherlands today? How have his rise and his assassination changed the political and societal debate on migration? And what does that say about Dutch views on tolerance and diversity? In the eight-part KRO-NCRV documentary series Fortuyn: Un-Hollands, producer mint film office gives a voice to people who were barely heard at the time, but who were right at the center of the Fortuyn debate. Critics, political allies and opponents, men and women, with a bicultural background and white, tell how they experienced the Fortuyn revolt and what influence Pim Fortuyn had – and still has – on their lives and positions in the Netherlands.

"It was a kind of flywheel that you set in motion; I couldn't turn back at all," says Hans van Mierlo in the film about his political career. That career began in 1966 when he founded the political party D66 with a number of like-minded individuals. Clearly visible from the editorial office of the Algemeen Handelsblad on the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal in Amsterdam, the unrest was crowing, fueled by Provo. The pillar society, which had kept the Netherlands afloat for so long, was no longer adequate. That was his analysis, and a much more direct democracy would have to take its place.