ANP
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 15:35
Hatixe Raba
Political editor
Hatixe Raba
Political editor
In the run-up to the elections, the coffers of political parties are being significantly boosted by donors. The VVD has already received 1.5 million euros this year and is therefore comfortably in the lead.
This is followed by GroenLinks and SP. The donations to these two parties mainly come from MPs and other politicians. Within these parties there is an agreement that they will donate part of their salary to the party.
NOS
Many parties receive money from donors, but the VVD in particular stands out. This is due to a fundraising dinner that real estate entrepreneur Cor van Zadelhoff organized at the end of August. List leader Dilan Yeşilgöz managed to convince the more than seventy entrepreneurs there with her story and raked in more than a million.
The suggestion that entrepreneurs would use this to buy influence is incorrect, says Van Zadelhoff. “Our foundation’s priority is not to buy influence with money. What we do want is mutual understanding between politics and business on certain topics. Politics has insufficient knowledge about the topics on which they have to decide. So we only advise.”
Van Zadelhoff thinks it is especially important that GroenLinks/PvdA does not come to power. “It is now more important than ever that VVD becomes the largest. If Frans Timmermans comes to power, it will be a disaster for the country and its entrepreneurs.”
ICT entrepreneur Ernst Nijkerk, who donated €100,000, emphasizes that he sees the VVD as a good cause. “When I make a donation to the Rijksmuseum, they really don’t listen to me about which painting they should hang, and that also applies to the VVD.” He thinks liberal ideas are important, it is “part of a better Netherlands.”
Maximum one tonne
Since the beginning of this year, donors are not allowed to donate more than €100,000 per year to a party. In addition, donations of more than 10,000 euros must be reported within three days. The Ministry of the Interior regularly publishes a newsletter in the run-up to the House of Representatives elections on November 22 update.
Jesse Klaver, number three on the GroenLinks/PvdA list, is happy that this can now be seen publicly. “This shows that the VVD is not the party for the middle class, but for millionaires. People with a lot of money want the VVD to stay in power and try to buy influence with money.”
The restriction came about after a commotion arose about two large donations of 1 million to the CDA and D66. Tech entrepreneur Steven Schuurman, who donated that million to D66, is donating again this year, this time the maximum €100,000. He does not want to explain this.
Level playing field
Parties are not only dependent on donations, but also on (increasing) government subsidies and (decreasing) membership contributions. Yet the playing field is not level, says political scientist Gerrit Voerman. “A number of parties that are on less good terms with entrepreneurs will not be eligible for large donations.”
Voerman thinks the new rules are a good step. “Obstacles are being put in place. You have to try as much as possible to avoid someone trying to buy influence and you can do that by being transparent about it and maximizing the amount. I wouldn’t even think it’s a bad idea if it was even less than becomes a ton.”
Political scientist Ingrid van Biezen also thinks the maximum amount of one hundred thousand euros is on the high side, especially from an international perspective. “In France, for example, an individual is only allowed to donate 7,500 euros and companies are not allowed to do so at all. You can have good intentions, but you want to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest. And with a hundred thousand euros it is not inconceivable that you can buy influence.”
Steven van der Heijden, CEO at Corendon, believes that there should actually be no maximum on ‘selfless donations’ to political parties. He donated a hundred thousand euros to D66. “There is no influence at all. I do it because I care about the party, I have been a loyal member for years,” he explains. “But I’m not naive either, I know there is a chance of influence. So I understand it.”
Small poisons
The overview provided by the Ministry of the Interior does not paint a complete picture: it only lists donations above 10,000 euros. Some parties receive (much) smaller donations. Pieter Omtzigt’s NSC, for example, reports that it has received 305,000 euros in small donations this year. The party does not want donations of more than 850 euros. Moreover, they do not have to be reported at all, but donations above 1,000 euros will ultimately be included in the annual report.
2023-11-02 14:35:22
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