A day after the political landslide, most political parties met to discuss how to move forward. After celebrating victories or licking wounds, parties are faced with the question of what the result means and whether they want to take part in a new cabinet.
Party leader Wilders is well prepared for this in a PVV hall packed with the new 37-member parliamentary group. “Yesterday we had a party, today we will drink champagne, and then we will work hard. The Dutch deserve it and PVV will join the next cabinet,” says Wilders.
He reiterates that he wants to work with other parties and says the time for finding differences is now over. “The voters have spoken, the rates are clear.”
VVD: the new reality
The VVD is of the opinion that the initiative should belong to the PVV and NSC. Party leader Yeşilgöz, who consulted with his group, states that his party lost 10 seats and is no longer “ahead”. He wants to see what PVV and NSC come up with first.
On Tuesday, Yeşilgöz said he did not want to take part in a coalition led by PVV leader Wilders. Today, he says he wants to take this “step by step.” According to him, there is now a new reality. However, it takes some time for the party to settle.
BBB boss Van der Plas expresses interest in joining Wilders. He “wants to enter into a coalition with the VVD, NSC and PVV, provided that Geert participates a little.” He notes that Wilders has promised to be more tolerant and now it depends on “whether he actually does it.” . Plans like banning the Quran and Nextit are “impossible and unfeasible,” according to the BBB.
MGK is still being discussed
NSC Van Omtzigt met at around 4.30pm. While Omtzigt negatively evaluated the cooperation with PVV before the elections due to its stance on Islam and the rule of law, now he emphasizes that the country needs to be governed.
When he joined the parliamentary group, Omtzigt said he faced the responsibility of forming a government but that it “won’t be the easiest government to form.” The party is likely to fall out internally with the PVV over governance, and the big question is whether they can reach an agreement at a meeting in the afternoon.
SGP leader Stoffer says it is now “primarily the big parties” but does not rule out “any coalition”. Stoffer says D66 is “more difficult to work with than PVV.”
Parties that do not want to talk to PVV about the cabinet include GroenLinks-PvdA, D66, Animal Protection Party, Volt, Denk and SP.
Despite the victory and second place, there are many sad faces in the joint faction GroenLinks-PvdA. According to party leader Timmermans, the result shows that “many people think the solution lies on the right.” He believes it is now up to PVV boss Wilders to see what kind of cabinet he can form. Timmermans doesn’t want to work with him. “This pushes an entire religion aside.”
D66 boss Jetten woke up “grumpy” and spoke of a “hard blow”. He says D66 now requires humility. PvdD boss Ouwehand woke up with “a feeling of pain and sadness”, Volt boss Dassen speaks of a heavy heart because the winning PVV is “diametrically opposed to everything we stand for”.
Denk also fears the arrival of a PVV-led cabinet and talks about the deportation of one million Dutch Muslims. “The fear of this is huge.”
CDA does not completely rule out participation in a new cabinet. However, party leader Bontenbal says that initially “the winner actually depends on the parties.”
Don’t call Remkes
Discussions about formation do not start today as in the past. Tomorrow, all party leaders will be invited by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Vera Bergkamp.
It is planned to appoint an observer, on the recommendation of the PVV, who will hold talks with all parties about what coalition they want and think is possible. As the House of Representatives has previously agreed, the new scout must be someone who stays away from politics.
In any case, no need to look for VVD celebrity Johan Remkes for now. In Sven on the 1st, Remkes said this morning that it seemed “unthinkable” to him that he would be appointed as a scout to the cabinet formation tomorrow. He says he always answers the phone when it rings, even though the message is “Don’t call me.”
He also advises party leaders to take “a few days off” and let the results become clear before making any decisions. There is a high probability that Omtzigt’s NPC, who will play an important role in the future, will take this time.
Source: NOS
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
