Employers' association does not want to disqualify PVV in advance, may provide stability

It is bad to disqualify political parties too quickly, said Ingrid Thijssen, chairwoman of the employers' association VNO-NCW, about the election winner PVV. She was asked in the Buitenhof program whether she believes that Geert Wilders' party can provide stability.

"I think we have to be careful when we disqualify people in advance. Also look at the BBB, which has provided good MPs for the provinces," Thijssen said. "And also look at the previous Cabinet. That wasn't stable either. I've also had to complain more often than I'd like recently."

She said one of the biggest problems for entrepreneurs is the instability of government policy. A survey conducted by the VNO-NCW among its supporters would show that three-quarters of entrepreneurs are dissatisfied with the policies of recent years.

Instability

"We had nine months of government formation and then a Cabinet for a year and a half. That is also what worries entrepreneurs, this instability," said Thijssen. She said that the signal from the elections was that the previous coalition had not tackled the problems successfully enough.

Thijssen did not comment on the PVV's anti-immigration views in the talk show. Previously, VNO-NCW and companies such as ASML and Philips had emphasized that foreign employees were still needed, while Wilders wanted to admit significantly fewer migrant workers into the Netherlands.