NOS/Jorn KompeerThe country house where the conversations took place
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 17:01
Pieter Omtzigt, founder and leader of New Social Contract (NSC), held discussions with candidates for his new party at a secret meeting in a country house in the middle of the country. A NOS reporter tracked down the secret location and found Omtzigt with aspiring candidates from his party on the Zonheuvel estate in Doorn.
With more than six weeks until the elections, the talks are in a final phase. The intention is for the list of candidates to be released within a week and a half, Omtzigt told NOS.
This is what Omtzigt says about the weekend:
Omtzigt speaks in a secret location with new party candidates
Initially, 2,400 candidates registered. This weekend, interviews were held with dozens of candidates from that original group. Omtzigt does not want to say exactly how many there were, but it became clear that there were no more than sixty.
Omtzigt was in the car at seven o’clock on Saturday morning to drive from Enschede to the country house, where conversations took place from nine in the morning until late last night. This continued almost all day today. After a busy week with Budget Day and the General Deliberations, Omtzigt calls it a “mega job”.
High pressure
Omtzigt says that they try to do everything as well as possible “under high pressure”. At least three interviews are conducted with candidates, with some more. According to Omtzigt, a “fairly large team of HR people” has helped: after all, a new party is also “a risk”.
Two weeks ago, Omtzigt dismissed his brand new spokesperson after just a few hours because of his language on
Omtzigt then said that his party had carried out an extensive screening for the candidates for the House of Representatives, unlike for the spokesperson. “That was a temporary contract for a number of weeks during the campaign.”
The conversations this weekend were not only about the candidates, but also about the election manifesto. A “concept program” was discussed that had been drawn up under the leadership of former CDA member Eddy van Hijum. Omtzigt says that a conscious decision was made to first find the party’s candidates and only then determine the final program. “This way the candidates can still have a say in the matter. Exactly the opposite of a traditional party.”
Liking each other
According to Omtzigt, it is not only about that “we like the candidates” but also that they “have to get along with each other”. After the intensive weekend, he says he is “exhausted” but also “very happy” with the candidates. “I’m really impressed and very inspired.”
In the conversation with the NOS, Omtzigt reiterated that it is still not aiming to become too big a party too quickly. In recent polls, the recently founded party has about 26 to 32 seats. It is still unclear how Omtzigt wants to achieve the limited growth and whether he will participate throughout the country. “We will say that when we present the candidates.”
“It is a process and you actually want to do it in confidence as much as possible, also towards the candidates. I do my very best, the more I am left alone, the easier it is.”
2023-09-24 15:01:13
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