Voting time: short-term comfort or a future for our children?

Today, the Netherlands is not only deciding who will govern, but also whether we have the courage to actually invest in the future. Although the election campaign was understandably dominated by crucial issues such as housing, healthcare, and purchasing power, one key factor has remained conspicuously underexposed: innovation.

This is a fundamental misconception. Innovation is precisely the key to sustainable growth, affordable healthcare, and a climate-friendly economy. Unfortunately, attention to the importance of digital and technological progress remained limited to niche media, such as the recent “digital debate” that we also reported on at IO+. The focus was too much on the issues of the day and too little on the structural solutions of tomorrow.

Fortunately, it is possible to make a well-considered, future-oriented choice. In recent months, IO+ conducted the The Hague Innovation Check. We looked beyond the grandiose election programs and focused on something much more important: the actual voting behavior of the current political parties in the House of Representatives.

Because don't be fooled: some parties like to talk about innovation, but too often vote against measures that enable the necessary progress. A party may have the word ‘digitization’ in its program, but at the same time vote time and again against motions that facilitate the preconditions for knowledge development and sustainability.

The results speak for themselves. There are major differences between parties when it comes to promoting innovation in the service of a sustainable, climate-friendly society.

So if you are looking for a policy that promotes long-term knowledge development, digitization, and sustainability, you know where to go. Not based on empty promises, but on fact-checked voting behavior.

Progress requires vision and courage

The call for a stable cabinet has rightly grown louder in recent weeks. Stability is a good and necessary foundation, but it should never be the goal in itself. If stability leads us to pursue policies that primarily aim to restore a glorified past, then we as a society will not make any progress.

Major existential transitions are underway in areas such as climate, energy, water and food supply, health, and digitization. All these transitions present immense challenges that require sustainable solutions and a long-term perspective. And as Albert Einstein is quoted as saying: “We cannot solve a problem with the same mindset that created it.” Innovation is not a luxury, but a necessity; not an incidental option, but a structural obligation.

Innovation is the fuel of a future-proof society. Investing in knowledge, education, and sustainable technology today will prevent us from falling behind tomorrow. Our children and grandchildren will not ask how much purchasing power there was in 2025, but will want a planet that is still livable in 2050. And beyond.

Innovation requires consistency, vision, and courage. It requires a policy that is not reinvented every four (or, as is currently the case, two) years, but a long-term strategy that strengthens our technological lead. This means that the people we elect today must dare to invest in knowledge development, technology, and talent with a view to the future.

Our responsibility to future generations

This brings us to the heart of the matter. Today is not just any election day. It is a choice between short-term reassurance and long-term progress. Between unachievable, individual promises for the ‘now’ or a society that will still be liveable and prosperous in 2050. Including an honest account of the sacrifices that will be necessary to achieve this.

The responsibility of the elected representatives is immense. They have a duty to future generations. But the responsibility lies just as much with us, as voters. And so it is up to us to give the right push today. So that, after today, a policy can be pursued that leverages the long-term effects of innovation to build a sustainable, climate-friendly society.

So vote for a party that does not see innovation as an option, but one that has already proven in recent times that it wants to make it an absolute prerequisite for a sustainable future. And if you don't want to do it for yourself, do it for the generations that will come after us. Their future begins with the vote you cast today.