Skip to main content
Home

Main navigation

  • Top stories
  • Health
  • Crime
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Tech
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Weird
  • 1-1-2
Image
Microphone
Microphone - Credit: Photo: Johannes Jansson / Wikimedia Commons
Entertainment
Politics
RTL
premier debate
CDA
d66
Groenlinks
PvdA
SP
parliamentary elections
VVD
PVV
Geert Wilders
Mark Rutte
Lodewijk Asscher
Jesse Klaver
Alexander Pechtold
Sybrand Buma
Emile Roemer
Wednesday, 15 February 2017 - 12:50
Share this:
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
  • reddit

Dutch broadcaster to continue with televised election debate without VVD and PVV

Broadcaster RTL decided to go through with the "Premier debate" later this month despite the VVD and PVV refusing their invitations. RTL initially decided to cancel the election debate after Geert Wilders and Mark Rutte said they wouldn't participate. But a massive outcry from viewers and other political parties made them change their mind.

"We found that many voters are looking for and need more information. They actively ask us for it", RTL Nieuws director Harm Tasselaar said. "Also from among the political parties there is a widely shared desire to cross swords and inform voters about their main views during prime time. We see it as our job to meet that need. "

The debate will continue with party leaders of te CDA, D66, GroenLinks, SP and PvdA. That is Sybrand Buma, Alexander Pechtold, Jesse Klaver, Emile Roemer and Lodewijk Asscher, respectively. Led by Frits Westers the party leaders will debate their views, leadership tactics and the future of the Netherlands. These parties were chosen based on the Peilingwijzer, a platform that brings the results of various political polls together. They are the five largest parties in the polls after the PVV and VVD. According to Tasselaar, all five party leaders already agreed to participate.

Wilders and Rutte announced early this week that they will not be participating in the Premier debate. According to them, RTL is breaking the previously made agreements for a four-party debate. The broadcaster wanted to invite the four largest parties in the polls, but the differences between the CDA, GroenLinks and D66 were so small that RTL felt compelled to invite all of them. So the debate would have five participants, instead of four. Those three parties are currently level on Peilingwijzer, all with between 15 and 17 seats.

Follow us:

Latest stories

  • RKC goalkeeper Etienne Vaessen regains consciousness after on-field collapse
  • One dead and three injured after major fire in house in Gouda
  • Gas production in Groningen stopped after 60 years
  • Speaking (in Dutch) about bikes & the weather: The Delft Method at NedLes
  • Amsterdam plans to end most remaining free parking zones by 2026
  • Erasmus MC introduces new mobile support heart for children waiting for donor

Top stories

  • RKC goalkeeper Etienne Vaessen regains consciousness after on-field collapse
  • One dead and three injured after major fire in house in Gouda
  • Gas production in Groningen stopped after 60 years
  • RKC-Ajax suspended after goalkeeper Etienne Vaessen collapses unconscious
  • Seventh anniversary of the abduction of Amsterdam girl Insiya Hemani
  • Amsterdam-Oost added to legal cannabis cultivation trial

© 2012-2023, NL Times, All rights reserved.

Footer menu

  • Privacy
  • Contact
  • Partner content