The business community is watching the PVV election win with suspicion

A hesitant reaction to the PVV’s election win. That party wants to leave the European Union and has several positions, such as a ban on the Koran, that are against the constitution.

Take responsibility

Yet Ingrid Thijssen – chairman of VNO-NCW – does not reveal the back of her tongue when it comes to a possible Prime Minister Geert Wilders. “We will see who it is. I assume that whoever it is will feel the responsibility to represent the Netherlands well abroad.”

What the employers’ organization is certainly not looking for is a radical change in policy, something that the PVV would like to see. “Many plans have already been made on many fronts. We should not do that again.” According to Tijssen, it is time to implement the plans. “Do, do, do” is the motto. By this she also refers to all measures to make the Netherlands more sustainable, all of which Wilders would prefer to see eliminated.

Concerns at Arcadis

At the international engineering firm Arcadis they are a bit more outspoken. General Manager Cécile Cluitmans of Arcadis Netherlands is concerned about the new political winds that are blowing, especially when it comes to the energy transition and inclusivity.

The company is not immediately concerned about its own investments in the field of climate, because it is active in 70 different countries. Cluitmans’ main message to a new cabinet: “Let us be the Netherlands for all Dutch people.”

Expats

Chip manufacturer ASML is also concerned about the election results, but this mainly has to do with the labor market. Both PVV and NSC, the two big winners, have indicated that they want to cut tax schemes for expats. They therefore pay less tax than Dutch citizens.

The parties believe this is unfair, but according to ASML these arrangements are very important to attract sufficient talent, the company said. to Bloomberg news agency. Furthermore, ASML, like Arcadis and VNONCW, calls for ‘consistent long-term policy’, so that companies know where they stand.

Logistics interests absent

Transport club Evofenedex believes that too little attention was paid to ‘the international context and geopolitical developments’ during the campaign. “The interests of trade and logistics were therefore very absent.” The organization says it is happy to contribute to solving social issues and ‘looks forward to a fruitful collaboration’ with the new House of Representatives.