VVD members angered by Yeşilgöz's decision not to join Cabinet

VVD members across the country are unhappy and angry about the decision by VVD leader Dilan Yeşilgöz not to join a Cabinet with the PVV at this stage, but to tolerate it at best. There is a lot of grumbling on the social media platform X. There is a lack of understanding about political games, which Yeşilgöz denies.

The VVD party's decision to pull out before the exploratory phase "seems to me to be a purely political-strategic move", argues Tilburg VVD party chairman Niels van Stappershoef on X. "This will not solve the concerns of many people. I thought we would be 'on their side'. Come on, no political games. Solutions!"

Prima om het initiatief bij de PVV en NSC te laten, maar dit lijkt mij een stap puur vanwege politiek strategisch gewin. Daar lossen we de zorgen die veel mensen hebben niet mee op. Ik dacht dat we ‘aan hun kant’ zouden staan. Kom op, geen politieke spelletjes. Oplossingen! https://t.co/8ZbJn1qkNK

— Niels v Stappershoef (@n_vstappershoef) November 24, 2023

VVD leader Dilan Yeşilgöz, however, does not believe that she is letting her voters down if she decides not to enter into a Cabinet with the PVV even before the exploratory talks have begun. In Nieuwsuur, she countered that this is a negotiating tactic or that she is playing a game, as critics in her own party and other groups believe. She believes that this decision "actually makes the formation more manageable".

She said that there are different forms of tolerance and that she is willing to make arrangements to constructively help a coalition of PVV and possibly NSC and BBB. This does not necessarily have to lead to a tolerance agreement, she said. "There is a difference between taking responsibility and joining in", said the VVD leader. She wanted to talk about the issues with an "open mind". In doing so, the party would also take responsibility for tackling problems, but the VVD would not have any ministers in a new Cabinet.

Halderberg's VVD councilor Thomas Melisse called the VVD party leader's decision "unworldly towards his own supporters and voters", he reports on X. According to him, he had many "angry, outraged VVD voters and members" on the line on various social media platforms and on the phone on Friday. He is "done with it for now. He has to take hits, make statements, and may also be judged locally in the elections. For a decision that I'm not involved in, that I don't support, and, above all, that I don't recognize."

Ben er voorlopig even klaar mee. Klappen opvangen, uitleg te moeten geven en mogelijk ook lokaal electoraal afgerekend te worden. Voor een beslissing waar ik niet bij betrokken ben, niet achter sta en mij vooral niet in herken. Gelukkig woensdagavond fysiek in discussie met #VVD

— Thomas Melisse (@ThomasMelisse36) November 24, 2023

VVD councilor Leendert Karreman from Zuidplas called Yeşilgöz's behavior incomprehensible. "Broken on migration and now making a right-wing Cabinet impossible.... Incomprehensible!" He is referring to the fall of the Rutte IV Cabinet due to irreconcilable differences to get migration under control.

The party leader of the VVD in Cranendonck, Jordy Driemans, also spoke of an "incomprehensible decision", he says on X. "So what was the point of not excluding voters in the election campaign?

"Seems like a nice topic for a digital members' survey, followed by an extra members' congress," recently retired VVD MP Jeroen van Wijngaarden wrote on X. "Irreversible decisions should never be made single-handedly and certainly not in a hurry."

Yeşilgöz believes that with tacit support, she can be accountable to the 1.5 million people who voted for the VVD. However, she points out that with the 10 lost seats, the voters have made it clear that things should be different than before and that it is up to the VVD to "take a pass".

On X, she wrote that the VVD does not run away from its responsibility. “We will therefore enable and constructively support a center-right Cabinet with good measures.”

https://twitter.com/DilanYesilgoz/status/1727986461553709425

When asked whether the refusal to join the Cabinet could change in the further course of the election period, she referred to the loss of seats for the VVD and the clear gains for the PVV, NSC, and BBB. "I don't think this position will change," she says. She also sees that "it will not happen so quickly" that the three parties say they cannot do without VVD ministers.