Cabinet formation: Former mediator Remkes thinks behavior of parties is "disrespectful"

Johan Remkes, who was mediator during the last Cabinet formation (Rutte IV), finds the behavior of the parties negotiating a right-wing coalition in recent months "disrespectful, on both sides". The fact that the party leaders exchanged unfriendly remarks with each other via social media was "mood-destroying", Remkes said on the TV program Buitenhof on Sunday.

Remkes does not want to sit in the chair of current mediator Ronald Plasterk, partly because he does not know how things went at the negotiating table. But he himself did not tolerate the constant "tweeting and attaching" at times when there was no talking. "I would say: close the valves," he said.

Hoe kijk oud-informateur Johan Remkes naar het formatieproces? 'Verwarring en chaos', ziet Remkes. ‘Kleppen dicht’, zegt hij over het sfeerbedervend getwitter. ‘Het gedrag was respectloos, over en weer’. Hij vindt dat het aan inlevingsvermogen ontbreekt. #buitenhof pic.twitter.com/936Y8hdUJo

— Buitenhof (@Buitenhoftv) February 11, 2024

Remkes finds it inappropriate that NSC leader Pieter Omtzigt suddenly left the negotiating table last week. "If you value decent governance, you don't do it that way".

Remkes notes that it was already clear in Plasterk's first scouting report that Omtzigt had difficulty participating in a Cabinet with a right-wing majority. "If you want to get out, you have to give each other comfort at some point," he says. He does not feel that the other parties have paid enough attention to this.

Remkes believes that a coalition in which the NSC plays a role is still possible. However, the man who led the previous formation out of a protracted impasse sees no role for himself in this context. After all, a new informant would have to be appointed in whom Omtzigt has confidence. "And I don't think that will be someone who is a member of the VVD in his spare time."

'Welk soort kabinet moet er worden gevormd?'. 'Een normaal parlementair meerderheidskabinet zit er niet in', aldus Remkes in #buitenhof. De sleutel ligt bij Omtzigt: 'er moet iemand komen waar Pieter Omtzigt vertrouwen in heeft'. pic.twitter.com/rM2wE7o3Nq

— Buitenhof (@Buitenhoftv) February 11, 2024