Disbelief. Slight distress even. “My first reaction?” asks nitrogen minister Christianne van der Wal. “I don’t have a response yet.” She adds: “Dilan’s campaign was really good.”
The exit poll causes dejected faces in the conference hall on an industrial estate in The Hague, where the VVD had hoped to celebrate a big party. But the campaign machine, which the VVD has been for years, is stalling. It has become unlikely that Dilan Yesilgöz will succeed Mark Rutte not only as party leader, but also as prime minister.
History shows that the departure of a prime minister means that the party must limit its losses in elections. Ask the CDA how difficult this is, where the farewell of Ruud Lubbers resulted in a decrease of twenty parliamentary seats. Or to PvdA members, who saw how their party had to surrender 22 seats after Wim Kok left the Binnenhof. The loss for the VVD will be approximately ten seats.
Fed up with old politics?
Member of Parliament Pim van Strien is in 34th place on the candidate list and sees ‘a dream going up in smoke’. “This is a sensitive loss. I really had the feeling that our party had achieved something beautiful in recent weeks.”
Outgoing Prime Minister Rutte largely kept aloof during the campaign, afraid that he would get in Yesilgöz’s way. The VVD was very keen to portray the image that the party is making a ‘fresh start’ under Yesilgöz, in the hope of shaking off the sticking problems (earthquake misery, benefits affair, housing shortage). She boldly posed on election posters with the text ‘Finished with old politics?’
What this new course entails did not become clear during the campaign. The VVD, unsurprisingly, made migration the main topic, a hobbyhorse of the party for much longer. Yesilgöz did not innovate, but preferred to ride on the foundation that the VVD built in the Rutte era; a party that watches over ‘our’ safety, that wants to ‘stem’ the ‘influx of asylum seekers’ and that is good for citizens who are generally already well off. ‘Choose Dilan’ became the slogan that would bring her to the Tower.
Vote for Wilders this time also a vote for power
On one important point Yesilgöz departed from her predecessor’s line; in the summer she stated that collaboration with Geert Wilders is no longer an option. It has given the final phase of the campaign a new, unexpected dynamic. Polling agencies saw how the PVV gained popularity, apparently because voters think (or hope) that a vote for Wilders this time is also a vote for power.
Rutte previously said that he ‘fully supports’ the new party line. Yet unrest broke out within the VVD in recent days. Yesilgöz stated in an interview that she will not join a coalition if Wilders becomes prime minister. “I think this country deserves a leader who is there for everyone. So no, I’m not going to do that.”
This statement will reverberate above the Binnenhof in the near future. Yesilgöz is more unclear this evening. She first wants to discuss the consequences of the result in the group. “That’s the correct order.” About Wilders’ win and her campaign strategy, Yesilgöz says: “It was not the VVD that made the PVV great, the voters did that. This is what’s going on. If you don’t address and solve that, you will get this.”
Also read:
Follow here how the results of the parliamentary elections trickle in.
In this article we follow the first exit polls after the polls closed. From that moment on you can see the results per municipality here.
Those who exclude are excluded: Wilders is never allowed to govern
Readers of Trouw responded en masse to the question whether Wilders’ voters should be excluded from government participation. Their opinion is unequivocal: Wilders’ fate is his own choice.
2023-11-22 20:54:11
#outreach #Geert #Wilders #harsh #punishment #VVD
