Dutch EU elections: 'Are you for or against Europe?'

On a recent Saturday afternoon in January, volunteers in the Dutch city of Utrecht were handing out soup and hot chocolate on behalf of the ruling coalition’s centre-left Labour Party. There was an open air event, with speeches and music, to mark the beginning of its electoral campaign.

This does not mean that Dutch voters are already thinking about the May elections to the European Parliament, however.

Labour held the Utrecht event because there are local elections on 19 March: T...