NSC leader Omtzigt blocking Ronald Plasterk from becoming next Dutch PM: Report

NSC leader Pieter Omtzigt has been the roadblock preventing Ronald Plasterk from becoming the next prime minister of the Netherlands, according to NRC. Sources close to the negotiations between the PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB told the newspaper that Omtzigt has his doubts about Plasterk, who is rumored to be the preferred nominee by Geert Wilders, the leader of the far right PVV party.

Aside from the tension between Omtzigt and Plasterk dating back to February, Plasterk is now tied up in an ethics scandal with the Amsterdam University Medical Center (AUMC). The NRC reported that cemented Omtzigt’s position to keep Plasterk out of the prime minister’s office.

For the time being, Richard van Zwol is expected to become the formateur, the person responsible for vetting and short-listing potential members of the Cabinet. Normally, this job is given to the person who will become the next prime minister, though Van Zwol has already said he is not interested.

The PVV represents the most seats in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Parliament, giving Wilders the first chance to find a candidate supported by his three coalition partners. Plasterk has been a member of Dutch Labor party PvdA since 1978, and served in Cabinets of both Jan Peter Balkenende and Mark Rutte. Plasterk also led early talks between the four parties before they announced their coalition on Wednesday.

Talks between those four parties have been ongoing since the Tweede Kamer election in November. Plasterk was leading the discussions which broke down soon when Omtzigt pulled out in early February amid the bitter atmosphere at the bargaining table.

Omtzigt was angered that Plasterk sat on financial information regarding the government ministries and the cost of different policy initiatives. The information was shared late with the fly leaders involved in the negotiations. Omtzigt walked out of the meeting, and was secretly driven to a hotel in The Hague where he told reporters why his party was pulling out of talks, NRC reported.

Plasterk, then made specific mention in the Tweede Kamer that Omtzigt used the car and driver that was hired for Plasterk’s exclusive use during the coalition negotiations. This raised the ire of NSC parliamentarians, NRC noted. There has been tension and bad blood between Omtzigt and Plasterk since, according to the newspaper.

The newspaper then published an article in April which claimed that Plasterk coopted research into a cancer treatment that was produced by the Amsterdam University Medical Center and a scientist. The newspaper reported that he claimed sole credit for a patent for this work, which earned him millions of euros, while returning none of that money to the academic hospital.

For the time being, the coalition will still have to continue searching for the successor to Mark Rutte, who has been prime minister in charge of four Cabinets dating to October 14, 2010. The PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB agreed to find a candidate they unanimously support.