Thom de Graaf, deputy president of the Council of State, has expressed concern about the state of democracy in the Netherlands and abroad, warning of growing autocratic influences and a shift away from fundamental democratic principles.

“There is something going on,” De Graaf said in an interview with the NRC, following the publication of the council’s annual report.

While he avoided direct criticism of the current Dutch government, he noted that “democracy is worth defending” and cautioned against reducing the concept to one of just majority rule.

De Graaf’s remarks come amid mounting right wing criticism of the Council of State, which advises the government and parliament on legislation and serves as the country’s highest administrative court.

Some politicians, including far right leader Geert Wilders, have dismissed the council’s recommendations as irrelevant, referring to its members as “un-elected bureaucrats”.

De Graaf declined to respond directly to political attacks. “The worst thing I can do is enter into a fight. We are not part of political discourse and we must not strike back, even when we are treated unfairly,” he said. “We give advice, we don’t make the decisions.”

“I am not the one to make a judgement about the behaviour of one politician on behalf of 18 million people,” he told the paper.