Nov 10, 2023 at 7:09 p.m
At the first party conference of the New Social Contract (NSC), the visitors are happy, surprised and emotional. The party has emerged in a short time. And all is going well for the time being, but party founder Pieter Omtzigt also sees that it is all happening very quickly.
“We have two small office spaces in the House of Representatives building, a total of four permanent employees and we want to change the Netherlands,” Omtzigt said in his speech on Friday afternoon in the Rijtuigenloods in Amersfoort.
That perhaps best summed up the atmosphere. Because in addition to the cheerfulness and joy, there is also a hint of fear.
“We want to grow in a controlled manner. But it is happening faster than we thought. That is clear,” Omtzigt told the assembled press earlier in the afternoon.
A few days earlier he was interviewed during an interview NPO Radio 1 confronted with the latest poll by I&O Research, where NSC gained two seats. “Oops,” was Omtzigt’s telling first reaction.
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A few news, but the main story remains the same
There is constant pressure in Amersfoort. First for the en masse press. Also from abroad. Then the closing speech. The room is full, people have to stand at the back of the room.
A completely different picture than when the CDA held a campaign conference at the same location nine months ago. Then for the Provincial Council.
NSC can report some news. For example, party chairman Bert van Boggelen announces that NSC will also participate in the European elections in June next year. He also announces the establishment of a scientific agency and the establishment of a youth branch: Young Social Contract.
The message is otherwise the same as what the campaign started with. The party focuses on good governance, social security, immigration restrictions and public housing. These key points are also written down in large format banners that hang on the wall.
The brand new members, who number 7,200 after just five weeks, all love it just as much. There is applause after Omtzigt talks about the establishment of a Constitutional Court.
Onmtzigt even gets his hands dirty when he announces the end of the General Administrative Service, the organization that is responsible for placing top civil servants in the ministries. Or as Omtzigt calls it: “Managing managers.”
NU.nl has delved into the election programmes. Read here what parties want with:
Omtzigt answers the prime minister’s question, but then again he doesn’t
But there is no impeccable answer to the question, which is also asked by foreign journalists. Does Omtzigt want to become prime minister?
Omtzigt answers it time and time again, but then again doesn’t. For example, he has “a very strong preference” to sit in parliament. Potential voters may want to take into account that the party has not yet announced a name “at this time”. It all remains with those somewhat cryptic answers.
Whoever becomes Prime Minister, Omtzigt certainly has a different interpretation in mind than Mark Rutte has done in the past thirteen years.
“The prime minister has become far too powerful in the Netherlands,” says Omtzigt. He cites examples of how decisions were made during the corona crisis. That happened in the Catshuis or in the Torentje. The House was not involved at the time.
The prime minister remains important, Omtzigt emphasizes. If only because that person chairs the Council of Ministers and represents the Netherlands abroad, such as in the European Council.
“Remains a powerful position, but not in the way it has been in recent years,” said Omtzigt. A different role. The only question is for whom.
2023-11-10 18:09:17
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