NSC will not present prime ministerial candidate until after elections, says Omtzigt

The NSC will not announce who will become prime minister until after the elections on November 22 if the party receives the most votes. Party leader Pieter Omtzigt said this at the party's first members meeting.

"People can also decide whether or not to vote based on what we tell them. And if they want to take into account that we can't announce a name at the moment, they can factor that into their voting behavior," Omtzigt said.

The NSC party leader does not rule out the possibility that, if his party wins a majority in the parliamentary elections, he will propose someone as prime minister who is not on his list of candidates. "That is a possibility, yes," he said in an interview with Nieuwsuur. "We haven't figured that out yet as a party."

Omtzigt also believes that the prime minister should be given less power. "The way of governing has to change and the position of prime minister is actually the first thing to change."

The office of prime minister will remain important but will be filled differently if it is left to the NSC. For example, the Prime Minister will continue to chair the Council of Ministers, will always be represented in the European Council, and will play an important role in Europe.

In the interview with Nieuwsuur, Omtzigt reiterated that the role of the prime minister should be smaller than in the Mark Rutte years. "In the last 12 years, we have been governed from the small Torentje. Or from the Catshuis, which is even more problematic because he only invited a few ministers there and then made decisions."

However, the new prime minister will "also be made responsible for the information management of the state", said the NSC party leader. This leaves much to be desired, he and a large part of the Tweede Kamer believe. Mark Rutte also deleted many text messages, which earned the outgoing Prime Minister heavy criticism.

As far as Omtzigt is concerned, the premiership remains a "position from which power and influence can, of course, be exercised", but no longer in the same way as in recent years.

Furthermore, he wants the Tweede Kamer to play a stronger role in political decision-making. In his opinion, a minority government can help with this, as a Cabinet would then also have to convince the opposition parties to vote for laws. His direct rivals Dilan Yesilgöz (VVD) and Frans Timmermans (GroenLinks) have already stated that they have little interest in this.

NSC to contest European elections

The NSC will take part in next year's European elections. This was announced by NSC party chairman Bert van Boggelen at the first members' meeting of Pieter Omtzigt's party.

The party also has a youth wing since Friday and will set up an office, Van Boggelen added.

After much hesitation, former CDA MP Pieter Omtzigt founded the New Social Contract party at the end of this summer. He finally decided, even after some doubts, to participate in all constituencies. There are 44 candidates for the Tweede Kamer on the NSC list.

In June, the EU member states will elect a new European Parliament. The new party also wants to take part in these elections. "I think that Europe is still the least exciting decision," said Omtzigt in a response to the Members' Day. The NSC now has an association with over 7,000 members and the will to change. "That's feasible," said the party chairman. "The list doesn't have to be that long because the Netherlands doesn't have that many seats."

In the polls for the parliamentary elections, the party has been in the top three for weeks, together with the VVD and the GroenLinks-PvdA. Should the party emerge as the strongest force in the elections on November 22, Omtzigt would prefer to remain in the Tweede Kamer as leader of the parliamentary group. However, he has not yet completely ruled out the office of prime minister.

The party does not yet know who will be the NSC's candidate for prime minister if Omtzigt remains in parliament, he said on the Op1 television program on Thursday.

The party is not represented in provinces and the Senate.