We all want to be able to go outside again, to see our friends and family and for our children to go to school. However, it will take a long time for everything to become ’normal’ again. To speed up this process, the government must ensure that everyone complies to the established rules, but how should they approach this? In an interview with NOS Nieuwsuur, Claes de Vreese argues that it is a delicate balance in which the government must ensure that the concern about the Corona virus persists and that this is clear to people, but at the same time also has to provide sparks of optimism. Press conferences can boost compliance, but this will shortly after deteriorate again. When the government announces to relax the rules, compliance will even drop further. The government must therefore find a middle ground to ensure that everyone remains realistic and adheres to the rules, but also has to offer hope in these uncertain times.
See the complete NOS Nieuwsuur item on the compliance to the rules and the balance between hope and realism here.