D66 leader Jetten lashes out at VVD at party conference

D66 leader Rob Jetten lashed out at the VVD and its leader Dilan Yeşilgöz. Speaking at the congress in Apeldoorn, Jetten said his party colleagues should not mourn the fact that the Cabinet has fallen. "Continuing to govern with a partner who constantly seeks an exit to the right stands in the way of a determined and stable government."

Dilan Yesilgöz, unlike her predecessor Mark Rutte, is said not to keep the door closed to the PVV and does not rule out a coalition with Geert Wilders' party from the outset. This is a horrifying development for Jetten. “Wilders supports Putin, wants out of the European Union, out of the Euro, wants to ban Qurans and mosques and excludes entire population groups.”

Although the VVD leader says she wants to get rid of "watery compromises," the liberals want to open the door to Wilders, according to Jetten. "The only thing Dilan Yeşilgöz wants to water down is Dutch values. The liberal values that this country was built on."

The outgoing Minister for Climate and Energy Policy continued “It is good that the VVD clearly indicates the direction it wants to go. That creates clarity for the voter. They also know what we stand for,” De Telegraaf reported.

The attack on the VVD earned him a standing ovation. Jetten said he was "concerned" about the VVD leader's "incomprehensible course." But he said he by no means wanted to rule out the VVD as a coalition partner. "If the broad center just starts excluding each other, you end up doing more politics on the flanks, and that won't do the Netherlands any good."

His party stands for the "progressive center" and is always willing to compromise, Jetten said. In his speech, he cited education as D66's spearhead. "Where other parties always prioritize other things when allocating funds, D66's choice is clear: education, education, education!

Party members supported the proposal to include the abolition of tuition fees for teacher training in the election manifesto. This is necessary to get more career changers into classrooms, the proposers said. However, party leaders took no position, but questioned the measure's effectiveness. Ultimately, 60 percent of members supported the proposal.

Nevertheless, the party is doing poorly in the polls. D66 now has 24 seats in the Tweede Kamer. In the polls, it is at about seven. But Jetten is confident that the tide will turn in the coming weeks. He points out that many voters have not yet decided who they want to vote for. “The time has come in 32 days. That's 32 days to earn people's trust. And I know I can do it,” Jetten told De Telegraaf.