Politician Henk Krol one of few still willing to work with Wilders

50Plus leader Henk Krol will not rule out working with Geert Wilders and his PVV in a next government, he wrote in an opinion piece in the Volkskrant. That makes the 50Plus one of very few political parties still willing to do so.

Though cooperating with Wilders does not seem to be Krol's main objective. According to him, refusing to work with Wilders will only motivate the PVV voters to vote in the elections on March 15th and bring in more votes for the party. "50Plus is emphatically opposed to helping the PVV get more votes", Krol wrote in the newspaper.

The 50Plus leader points out that there is a solid chance that the PVV will be the biggest party after the elections - current polls put them between 31 and 37 seats, according to NOS - which means that Wilders can take the initiative in the formation of a government. "That means that all other parties will not accept that invitation and stay away from the negotiation table. Anyone can understand what impression that will mae and what electoral yarn the PVV will spin with this."

Krol will consider working with Wilders, but only under conditions that will help bridge the gap between the major differences the PVV and 50Plus has. The first condition has to do with asylum seekers and refugees - 50Plus wil only talk to the PVV if the party chances its stance that no refugees will be allowed in the Netherlands. 50Plus also wants the PVV to support them in changing the retirement age back to 65 years. Krol points out that the PVV supported keeping the retirement age at 65 years in 2010, but backed off in the formation of the first Rutte cabinet.