Sander Schimmelpenninck9 July 2023, 15:48
Necessity breaks law, even TV laws. And so it was possible that I was watching a strong episode of Op1 on Saturday evening, in which three ministers from three different coalition parties looked back on the fall of the cabinet. On one side the alleged culprit, the VVD of Dilan Yesilgöz, on the other side of the table two victims, Hugo de Jonge (CDA) and Maarten van Ooijen (CU). It provided an interesting insight into the dynamics of the coalition, with ‘unnecessary’ being the most commonly used word.
Hugo De Jonge (CDA) took on the role of narrator, and played the black piet both to the VVD, which had brought things to a head unnecessarily, and to the ChristenUnie, which had fired a very reasonable-sounding package when the bend or crack. I paid particular attention to Van Ooijen, the young, modest secretary of state who had two experienced lawyers facing him. He explained what the ultimate breaking point was: the delay and restriction in family reunification of all asylum seekers in order to prevent ‘repatriation after reunification’. How often (or little) that ‘family reunification after family reunification’ occurs, however, remained unmentioned.
In recent months, Rutte has actively created the impression that this relatively small point of contention would be a breaking point for the VVD, knowing that the same point of contention is also a breaking point for the ChristenUnie (and D66). In this way he was able to credibly push the issue to a head and he now hopes that his voters will appreciate the set-up. However, the difference between the two parties is substantial; at the ChristenUnie they believe that they cannot live with the proposed plan, at the VVD they are ‘bummed’ that the ChristenUnie did not want to swallow their melon.
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Sander Schimmelpenninck is a journalist, entrepreneur and columnist for de Volkskrant. He was previously editor-in-chief of Quote. Columnists are free to express their opinions and do not have to adhere to journalistic rules of objectivity.
Although Rutte’s accusations of Machiavellianism are justified, he is also right: the Netherlands is simply much more right-wing than Rutte IV’s policy. Progressive Netherlands would prefer that Rutte just throw some sensible policy through it, but Rutte is simply attached to his position. And he only keeps that if he can bend the story to his will and blow with the wind.
Rutte is not the dam against a populist flood, Rutte is the river that will eventually flood the populist lake. In thirteen years of Rutte, selfishness, brutality and spoiledness have become the norm and it no longer seems possible to hold citizens accountable for collective responsibilities. During his right-wing rule, the word ‘left’ has become a term of abuse, weakening the collective, growing inequality, rewarding bastard and neglecting crucial files. Nevertheless, Rutte sticks to his crappy and nihilistic liberalism, despite the overwhelming evidence of its failure.
Although no one says they want to govern with the VVD, it will have to, because neither the progressive nor the dom right will gain a majority. After thirteen years of Rutte, a cabinet with the BBB as the largest and the VVD as the junior party would be an appropriate punishment for Rutte’s gambling and the Netherlands. A cabinet of populist bunglers can make the Dutch realize that you can squeeze your hands with ministers such as Dijkgraaf, Van der Burg and Hoekstra. Let the citizen feel what you get when you choose a risen marketing agency for agro-millionaires with conspiracy thinkers on the list as the largest party. Rutte IV was the last chance for progress for now. The Dutchman, who has benefited from a strong collective and equal opportunities for generations, seems determined to destroy exactly those two things. I’m afraid one has to feel the pain of it before one understands it.
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2023-07-09 13:48:52
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