Ball will be in Timmermans' court if Cabinet formation talks collapse again: VVD leader
The Cabinet formation talks between the PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB have reached a crucial point, VVD leader Dilan Yeşilgöz said in the parliamentary debate on the negotiations on Wednesday. “This may be the last chance for a center-right Cabinet,” she said. “If the attempt fails, the ball will simply roll to Mr. Timmermans.”
According to the VVD leader, the four party leaders have “set their egos aside” to be able to work together. “The differences between the four parties are not small,” she said. “But fortunately, the will to make this work is great. We don’t have to marry each other, we have to work together.”
GroenLinks-PvdA leader Frans Timmermans appealed to the VVD, NSC, and BBB not to work with the PVV. “For the first time in parliamentary history, the radical right will bear responsibility for the country’s government,” he said in the debate, according to the NOS liveblog. You cannot blame the PVV for that, but the other parties bear responsibility. “They make it possible for Wilders to pull the strings. Don’t do this to our country.”
According to Timmermans, it makes no difference whether Wilders becomes Prime Minister or remains a parliamentarian. “It doesn’t matter where Wilders sits, it will always be the Wilders Cabinet.”
The left-wing leader also asked PVV leader Geert Wilders to stop complaining about not getting to be Prime Minister. The PVV is the largest party with 37 seats in parliament, and that gives the party the right to take the lead in the Cabinet formation, Timmermans said. “And that’s where your right ends. If you don’t succeed, you can simply join the opposition. There is nothing undemocratic about that.”
Earlier in the debate, Wilders did again breach the topic of not becoming Prime Minister. “I would be the best Prime Minister in the Netherlands,” he said. “I’m convinced of that.” He said he would serve in that position “one day” and called it “the greatest political sacrifice” he is now making.
Timmermans accused Wilders of having a “messiah complex,” according to NOS. “Don’t portray yourself as the savior of the homeland. Be a mature politician and stop complaining that they don’t want you to be Prime Minister.”
Topics up for discussion in next round of talks
Kim Putters, the leader of the previous round of formation talks, included in his report a list of topics the PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB should make concrete agreements about in the upcoming negotiations:
- Asylum and immigration
- Nitrogen, nature, water, agriculture, fishery, food security
- Social security, purchasing power
- Healthcare
- Public housing
- Good governance
- Security
- Finances
- Rule of Law
- International and business climate
D66 leader Rob Jetten immediately raised concerns that topics like climate change and education are not on that list. According to Yeşilgöz, that does not mean they won’t be discussed. She plans to at least indicate which direction her party will take on climate, education, and support to Ukraine. “You don’t have to worry about that,” she told Timmermans.
“It won’t be easy negotiations, NSC leader Pieter Omtzigt said when it was his turn to talk. He said he was “particularly satisfied” with the shape of the new Cabinet. An “extra-parliamentary program Cabinet is in line with our plea for a new administrative culture.” The four party leaders won’t form part of the Cabinet but remain in parliament, and half of the Ministers will come from other parties or won’t be politicians at all, he said.
This new type of Cabinet made him willing to continue discussing the content, even though there are major differences between the parties, Omtzigt said. “There are four quite different election manifestos. So there will have to be a lot of discussion about it,” he said. If they reach an agreement, the NSC is “in principle” willing to supply Ministers.
SGP and CDA surprised with formation leader nominations
The nomination of Elbert Dijkgraaf and Richard van Zwol to lead the next round of formation talks came as a big surprise for the parties from which the two nominees come. SGP leader Chris Stoffer said that he was not aware that Dijkgraaf had been asked and agreed. Dijkgraaf used to be an SGP parliamentarian, but has not been active for the party for some time.
CDA leader Henri Bontenbal only learned just before the debate that Van Zwol would lead negotiations for a new right-wing Cabinet. He was “disappointed” by that. “It is clear that the formation parties are once again unable to supply people themselves,” he said. The two previous formation leaders - Putters and Ronald Plasterk - both came from the PvdA. Bontenbal did call Van Zwol “ a man with a great track record within the national government and the Council of State.”
But this leads him to worry that the PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB will soon recruit Cabinet members from other parties without consluting with those parties first. “Will that happen through the parties or through individually asking Ministers?” Bontenbal asked.
Yeşilgöz said she’d do it through the parties but made no promises that it would happen like that. “Other dynamics may also arise. I do not have complete control over it myself.” According to the VVD leader, the Cabinet members must “absolutely reflect” the PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB, but she is open to Ministers from other parties. “If you feel called to do so and want to contribute in the context of the stability of the Netherlands, you are welcome.”
