Timmermans lashes out: PVV is not the guardian of freedom

Left-wing political leader Frans Timmermans said that the PVV, the far-right party led by Geert Wilders, cannot be considered a defender of liberty. Timmermans spoke on Sunday at a meeting of members from his GroenLinks-PvdA party. He told those gathered in Eindhoven they must make it clear they are the true “guardians of the concept of ‘Freedom as freedom for everyone,’” and said that the PVV is “not the direction for this country.”

At the meeting to welcome new party members, Timmermans praised the four parties at the formation table, but the PVV in particular. “And of course, our opponents are slippery; they are clever. They know how to use words in such a way that they always deny that they are saying what they are saying,” said the left-wing party leader.

“But think for a moment what it means when someone says, ‘I put Dutch people first.’ What is the implicit message? The implicit message is, ‘I make a distinction.’”

The great danger is that progressive people show indifference to the rise of the radical right, the social democrat said. He thinks that Wilders will also limit the freedom of the press, “because he is part of the ideological movement that also wants control over the ‘truth.’”

To his own supporters, Timmermans joked about the bickering that has played out on social media between the party leaders involved in the current Cabinet formation talks. “I also wonder how the four of them can be doing that, ” he said.

If the PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB do form a coalition, it would be “a break with how this country traditionally acquires governments”, according to Timmermans. Government coalitions have consistently leaned on the political center in recent decades, he said. That will change if these parties are successful, he remarked.

“And then the question is whether they will all be dragged down in that one direction,” Timmermans told the members. “Or whether there is also an ability to reactivate those social connections and involve everyone. We will see.”