VVD vote remains very good | Inland

It shouldn’t spoil the fun. It is an old-fashioned party atmosphere at the results evening of the liberals, as if corona never existed. “In a brewery. It’s still the VVD, isn’t it,” beams campaign manager Thierry Aartsen, specialty beer in hand, prior to the first exit polls.

The De Prael beer brewery in The Hague is a combination of politicians from the local faction of The Hague, members of the VVD and here and there a well-known national face. VVD leader Mark Rutte laughs widely among the members, and poses here and there for a selfie with those present.

shadow war

Acting party chairman Onno Hoes kicks off the evening. The war in Ukraine casts a shadow over these elections, Hoes must admit. “Many of the things we wanted to do, we didn’t do, out of respect for the people who are having a hard time. Out of respect for the refugees from Ukraine. But whatever the result, we got everything out of the campaign,” says Hoes, while welcoming campaign manager Aartsen to loud cheers from those present. “No worries. Soon the really important people will have their say,” he jokes.

‘Let’s stand side by side again’ was the call with which VVD leader Mark Rutte kicked off the campaign for the municipal elections. “We are still a cool country, a sweet country.” It was a reference to the corona crisis, in which polarization increasingly predominated during the final phase. But now that the pandemic has almost been declared over and the war in Ukraine is taking a prominent place, Rutte seems more comfortable now that he can take on his role as ‘statesman’.

However, things did not exactly run smoothly for the VVD in the months before the municipal elections. Rutte received a lot of criticism for being with Jinek during the campaign kick-off, while Russian leader Putin recognized the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as ‘independent’ at exactly that moment. The start of the war in Ukraine.

Rel Soumaya Sahla

The recent riot surrounding party membership and the activities of ex-member of the terrorist cell the Hofstad group Soumaya Sahla is still etched in the memory of many in The Hague for the VVD. PVV leader Geert Wilders managed to make a smart political profit and spoke to Rutte about it several times, both in parliamentary questions and during a debate about the government statement.

Party chair Sophie Hermans played an emphatic role in this. By speaking openly about her doubts and ‘struggle’ about Sahla’s position within her party, Hermans unintentionally stirred up the riot again in February. It eventually led to Sahla giving up her position as an advisor within the VVD.

There is also criticism from various quarters of Hermans’s statements, who has a knack for emphasizing what does go right instead of reflecting on what goes wrong.

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