THE HAGUE, 20/06/08 - A large majority (82 percent) of the Dutch describe themselves as personally happy. But 64 percent simultaneously consider that things are going more the wrong than the right way with the Netherlands, shows a Social and Cultural Planning Bureau (SCP) study released yesterday.

The Dutch give their circle of friends and acquaintances and their daily activities (work, study) a more than satisfactory rating (7.4-7.7). The Dutch society as a whole gets a rating of 6.2, while politicians in The Hague get no more than a 5.1.

Nearly three-quarters (72 percent) of the population agree that 'in the Netherlands, people deal with one another with less and less respect.' SCP calls it remarkable that only 23 percent dare to address someone on the street about their behaviour, for fear of aggressive reactions. Conversely, a large majority (81 percent) do believe that 'many people are still prepared to help one another.'

A majority (58-59 percent) considers that 'national politics is for most people too complicated to understand' and that 'people like me have no influence whatever on what the government does.'

The Dutch also have more trust in big companies, unions and media (5.9-6.1) than in the Lower House (5.3) and the government (5.1). SCP however appears to have difficulty in accepting this. "Not too much value should be attached to these figures. 'Trust' can mean different things,' the organisation's press release concludes.

Based on their media usage, SCP discerns five groups of citizens. These are news-watchers (31 percent), public broadcasting viewers (24 percent), public broadcasting avoiders (16 percent), readers of De Telegraaf (the biggest newspaper, 17 percent) and opinion magazine readers (12 percent).

People who get their information from the public broadcasters and opinion magazines are the least negative on politicians and society. De Telegraaf readers and public broadcasting avoiders are the most critical.