Of the 57 political integrity scandals, the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) topped the rankings with eight, whilst Forum for Democracy (FVD) and the Party for Freedom (PVV) each recorded four. Notably, the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), which typically dominates the list, was involved in only two incidents.
"This marks the twelfth year of our Political Integrity Index, providing crucial insights into governance standards," commented Professor Huberts. "Since 2013, we've recorded 655 integrity scandals, averaging approximately 55 annually."
The researchers identified a historic first: a Dutch politician facing plagiarism allegations. State Secretary Vicky Maeijer of the PVV, responsible for Long-term and Social Care, was discovered to have partially copied her thesis.
Prof. Kaptein noted that the PVV has been particularly affected by scandals in recent years. "Geert Wilders has faced significant challenges with his appointees, including having to dismiss Gom van Strien and Ronald Plasterk [who were tasked with exploring options for a new cabinet], the latter previously considered a strong prime ministerial candidate."
The research team's analysis showed that 'misconduct in private life' remained the largest category with 16 cases, followed by 15 conflicts of interest, 8 instances of inappropriate workplace behaviour, and 6 instances of information misuse.
Prof. Heres highlighted their special focus this year: "Due to the prevalence of misconduct in private life, we analysed all 154 such cases from the past decade. Fraud emerged as the most common issue with 25 cases, followed by aggression, social media controversies, sexual misconduct, and housing regulation violations."
The study demonstrates a slight decrease in overall scandals compared to previous years, with 78 recorded in 2022 and 65 in 2023, suggesting a return to long-term averages.