Timmermans denies calling for violence against Wilders; PVV leader can't take criticism

Left-wing political leader Frans Timmermans denied allegations on Sunday claiming he called for violence against PVV leader Geert Wilders. "Wilders always does this when he is criticized. Then he lashes out," said the former European Commissioner and current GroenLinks-PvdA leader in a statement.

Wilders said on Saturday evening that he would press charges against Timmermans, who said in a speech this weekend, "We will stop at nothing to prevent Wilders from coming to power in this country." Wilders claimed this meant that violence was also an acceptable method.

In another message written on X, Wilders called the Timmermans speech, "life-threatening left-wing incitement." He also appealed to others to report Timmermans to Dutch authorities.

"My means are always parliamentary and nothing else. I reject any other suggestion," Timmermans said. He previously said that constant rantings from Wilders on X and its predecessor, Twitter, are akin to "permanent Twitter incontinence."

During his speech on Saturday, the GroenLinks-PvdA leader accused Wilders of being the person primarily responsible for the fact that a Cabinet has not been formed now five months after the November election. Wilders and the PVV have been trying to negotiate a coalition agreement with the VVD, NSC and BBB. Timmermans said that, because of Wilders, this has only "led to a lot of arguments and zero solutions."

And all this time, nothing is being done to address "the needs of society," Timmermans told members of both GroenLinks and PvdA during a joint conference. He believes the attempt by the PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB will soon end without result.

"I have always said, the leader of the largest faction can take the initiative in Cabinet formation. But there also comes a point at which he forfeits that privilege. And that point is now getting closer. Those four cannot keep the Netherlands on hold indefinitely. The only question is when will VVD and NSC realize this? Or will they embark on a risky experiment with a man who has chosen only to sow division?" Because, Timmermans believes, "if you sow division for more than 20 years, you can never create unity."

Despite the "permanent Twitter incontinence," Timmermans observed that Wilders has not said a single word about the minimum wage, "not a word about tenants or about the abolition of the health insurance deductible." He said it should not be surprising that the PVV leader only identifies problems and does not come up with solutions. "If you have applied a completely impossible, unconstitutional and undignified solution to every problem for 20 years, you cannot suddenly come up with solutions and govern the country. That is not possible."

Timmermans said during the speech he wanted to do everything possible to prevent Wilders from coming to power. He warned the VVD and NSC that his party will put up "strong opposition" if the PVV leader is "hoisted into the saddle" by them. Their policy will lead to "Russian roulette with the interests of employees, pensioners and tenants" and also "with our national security," said Timmermans, who dismissed Wilders as a "self-proclaimed admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin."

After Wilders struck back at Timmermans to allege a call to violence as part of the left-wing leader's speech, two outgoing Cabinet members also spoke up for Timmermans during television interviews. "This party only operates within the boundaries of the rule of law. And Frans Timmermans certainly does," said Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren during an episode of WNL op Zondag.

Her D66 party colleague, Finance Minister Steven van Weyenberg, also said on Buitenhof that it was like a "circus." He stated, "I don't think anyone actually believes that he meant anything bad, other than that he will politically oppose Wilders."

Last week, Timmermans indicated in an interview with AD that he believes that the four parties struggling to form a Cabinet should look at alternatives if they cannot reach an agreement by June 1. GroenLinks-PvdA is the second largest political faction in the Tweede Kamer with 25 seats. In principle, that party gets the initiative if other attempts fail.

Because a coalition without the VVD's 24 MPs would be virtually impossible, Timmermans has carefully opened the door to the VVD, should they be ready to talk. During the campaign, the two parties were often diametrically opposed to each other.