Dutch parties woo older voters

Dutch MP Henk Krol does not shy away from hyperbole.

“All affairs that affect the elderly, whether it is their state pension, private pensions, health care, were all absolutely taboo during the previous elections,” he told EUobserver recently.

That statement is at best an exaggeration, and at worst a lie.

The major parties all had elderly-related plans in their electoral programmes ahead of the 2012 general election, and there was considerable time spent at television debat...