VVD and NSC share concerns about PVV; Cautiously optimistic about Cabinet talks

The VVD and NSC share several concerns about Geert Wilders and his PVV’s basic principles, VVD leader Dilan Yeşilgöz said after meeting with NSC leader Pieter Omtzigt and formation scout Ronald Plasterk. Yeşilgöz thinks the VVD and NSC can “go a long way,” and she is cautiously optimistic about making a deal with the PVV.

“I think we have the same concerns in a lot of areas,” the VVD leader told the press after speaking with Omtzigt. “There is a lot of overlap there. But, of course, the substantive conversation has yet to begin.”

Yeşilgöz said their concerns are about the PVV’s “basic principles.” That includes how Wilders will impact the Nehtelrands’ position internationally. His party wants the Netherlands to withdraw from the UN climate change deal and leave the European Union, for example. The PVV has also opposed military aid for Ukraine.

Omtzigt was more reluctant to comment to the media about his discussion with Yeşilgöz and his upcoming talks with Plasterk and Wilders. He said he’d discuss his concerns about the PVV with Wilders himself. “Before the elections, we made it clear that we had fundamental objections,” he said. “Fundamental rights are not some kind of negotiation. You can’t take pieces from it.”

The NSC leader also reminded the press that Article 1 of the Dutch constitution states that everyone in the Netherlands must be treated equally in equal cases and that discrimination on grounds of religion, among other things, is not permitted. Wilders said he’d put his anti-Islam opinions “on hold” in order to govern, but the PVV program still states that the party wants to ban Korans, mosques, and Islamic schools.

Election winner Wilders wants to form a right-wing Cabinet with the PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB. But so far, only the BBB has been enthusiastic about the idea. Yeşilgöz quickly made clear that the VVD wouldn’t be part of the next government but was willing to offer tacit support to a center-right Cabinet of the PVV, NSC, and BBB. Omtzigt said the NSC wasn’t ready to negotiate with Wilders yet.

This week, formation scout Plasterk met with the leaders of Wilders’ dream team to see if he could get talks going. As scout, his job is to identify a potential coalition to further explore and negotiate in the next phase of the Cabinet formation process. He plans to write his report to the Tweede Kamer this weekend and submit it early next week. On Tuesday, he said he would do “everything possible” to deliver a report that would allow the formation to move forward.