Accusations and insults galore in penultimate debate before parliamentary election
The gloves were off in the penultimate parliamentary debate between the six biggest parties in the polls, organized by EenVandaag in Ahoy Rotterdam on Monday. Recriminations and accusations flew back and forth. “Can politicians please just calm down?” CDA leader Henri Bontenbal shouted toward the end of the televised debate, but his appeal fell on deaf ears, NOS reports.
Geert Wilders (PVV), Frans Timmermans (GroenLinks-PvdA), Henri Bontenbal (CDA), Dilan Yeşilgöz (VVD), Rob Jetten (D66), and Joost Eerdmans (JA21) were invited to debate on stage surrounded by over 2,000 students. The first few election debates without Wilders were all painstakingly polite, with the center parties CDA, VVD, D66, and the left-wing GL-PvdA mainly trying to convey that governing with the far right was no good choice. But since Wilders joined the debate on Thursday, the tone has clearly shifted.
On Monday, the attacks were fierce, sometimes covering debate topics and sometimes directed at the politician themself. No one seemed able to gather enough patience to let the others talk.
D66 leader Jetten said that it’s “all Wilders’ fault” that the Dutch identity is under pressure. According to Jetten, the Netherlands became a “proud country over the centuries, thanks to tolerance and progress.” And the far-right leader promptly destroyed that “with 20 years of negativity and hateful politics.” Wilders called that a “beautifully rehearsed story.”
VVD leader Yeşilgöz was irritated by Jetten’s “smooth talk” and accused him of not wanting to implement drastic asylum measures. Timmermans accused Jetten of having an “accountant mentality,” because the D66 leader repeatedly pointed out that GL-PvdA hasn’t budgeted for additional defense spending until 2035.
Wilders got pushback from the students in the crowd. The PVV leader said he wants to reduce VAT to 0 percent and pay for that by ending development cooperation. “Then they may have a little more hunger in Africa, but not here,” Wilders said. His statement was met with loud jeering.
Wilders ducked out quickly after the debate. The other party leaders didn’t seem very impressed with how the debate went. “A bit chaotic, a lot of bickering,” JA21 leader Eerdmans said afterward. Timmermans and Yeşilgöz described it as messy, and Bontenbal said there was “a lot of talking over each other.
The polling stations for the 2025 parliamentary election open in less than 24 hours. The final election debate will be on NOS on Tuesday evening. The six smaller parties will be up first at 7:00 p.m., followed by the leaders of the nine larger parties an hour later.
