Suddenly you think of Rita Verdonk. Not because she has any similarities with Pieter Omtzigt in terms of content, but because they were in the same situation: they had left their former party, but were extremely popular. Omtzigt because of the benefits scandal, Verdonk because of her strict asylum policy. A non-party politician is almost always asked the same question: are you going to set up your own party? Here is another similarity: they both started one. And what a party.
Verdonk’s party was given the name Proud of the Netherlands. The polls were good, but you soon wondered why. The party resembled the VVD in every way, only with a slightly more populist tone. There was no truly distinctive program, which after a while made the question arise why ‘Trots’ even existed. The answer was: Verdonk was popular and had broken with the VVD. Her enormous fan base had convinced her that she had to move on.
We may never know exactly how this happened, but Omtzigt seems to be experiencing the same phenomenon. His departure from the CDA did not harm his popularity. He suddenly found himself in the Lower House on his own. His fans were already there: ‘set up your own party, Pieter’, they shouted. That made sense: otherwise Omtzigt’s brilliant political career would have ended quickly. Wherever Omtzigt went, people pulled at his jacket: ‘do it, Pieter, we can’t do without you!’
Take the plunge
Just like Verdonk, Omtzigt took the plunge. How this will end is easy to imagine. NSC revolves around Omtzigt just as Trots op Nederland revolved around Verdonk. Many involved dig in their heels and deny it, but without a leader, there is little left of such a party. We have seen this with Trots op Nederland: when Verdonk called it quits, it was also time for many to pack their bags. Only a few stayed behind. It will be no different with NSC.
Like flies on syrup: this is how upcoming politicians are attracted to new parties. Verdonk was approached by all sorts of types who had never found a job on the right and who now saw their chance. This process is even clearer with Omtzigt: people who were no longer eligible for election at the CDA or – in their eyes – had not made enough of a career, suddenly had a party in their sights that could give their career a new boost. No one had their own supporters, but fortunately Omtzigt did.
The most important question is of course whether these kinds of parties are relevant in terms of content. It is easy to judge with Trots op Nederland: we know that this was a populist variant of the VVD, with a vision that is hardly distinguishable from the liberals. With NSC it is not essentially different: a centrist party that is very similar to the CDA, except that it sometimes strikes a somewhat more populist tone. The biggest difference is that NSC makes a mistake that the CDA has since unlearned: governing with the PVV.
Relevant in terms of content? NSC does not have a policy program or any ideological embedding.
Contradiction
When everyone is dependent on the leader for their job, contradiction is difficult. Only afterwards do those involved dare to admit that there is an unhealthy culture. Verdonk did not want feedback as a leader and therefore did not receive it. Omtzigt, with his passion for details, procedures and reports, is not really someone who invites you to disagree with him for an afternoon. How many NSC members of parliament would have seriously and fundamentally contradicted him?
This also makes it immediately clear who is responsible for mistakes in these types of parties. The most important examples are obvious: NSC did not want to be in a coalition with the PVVbut it happened anyway. You wonder how much internal discussion there was. If the HJ Schoo lecture causes confusion and outrageit is crystal clear who to look at. Curious how many people at NSC had read the lecture in advance and had let Omtzigt know that it was ‘a great story’.
These kinds of parties are fun to get a job, but after that the fun quickly goes away. At Trots op Nederland people left as quickly as they came. It is not yet certain whether NSC will last long, but there are some bad omens: several employees who worked for Omtzigt’s one-man faction have left, as have interim chairman Bert van Boggelen in the founder of the scientific institute. Is this party a warm bath?
Big mistake
It is becoming increasingly clear that NSC was a big mistake, just like Trots op Nederland. Rita Verdonk ended well: the elections were only a few years after the foundation. This gave the voters ample time to discover that Trots was a completely superfluous club in terms of content and that Verdonk was not at all the dream leader that many had made her out to be. Verdonk won zero seats and was able to leave quietly through the back door. How happy she must have been.
With Omtzigt, things went differently. NSC was founded under enormous time pressure, precisely because elections were coming up. Verdonk had had more time to think through her plans and also had more time to be exposed. Omtzigt had to decide more quickly and suddenly found himself with twenty seats in the Lower House. A nice reward for his hard work, but it does not detract from the substantive redundancy of NSC and the fact that no one else from the party draws full halls.
At NSC, everyone always looks to Omtzigt: to give the party more substance, to gain publicity with lectures, to explain the PVV coalition, to act as a binding agent and to improve the polls. Sooner or later, everyone goes crazy about it. Every blunder weighs on Omtzigt, the others mainly hope that the political adventure will continue for a while. A sustainable situation is different and Omtzigt deserves better. He should never have started it.
What now? It’s never too late to put an end to it.
Image: Pieter Omtzigt at the first NSC congress. Still van YouTube.
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