Dilan Yeşilgöz losing support: Nearly half of VVD voters want different party leader
Confidence in VVD leader Dilan Yeşilgöz has almost halved since June. Nearly half of VVD voters (45 percent) would prefer a different party leader for the October 29 parliamentary elections, mentioning her row with Douwe Bob, the VVD’s exclusion of the PVV, and the party’s course as reasons, RTL Nieuws found in a survey of 22,000 of its panel members.
The VVD voters who want a different party leader consider Yeşilgöz “too impulsive” and “weak on substance.” One person said, “She’s starting to resemble Wilders with her hasty tweets.” VVD voters would rather have former asylum state secretary Klaas Dijkhoff (66% VVD voters’ support) or caretaker Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans (32%) as party leader than Yeşilgöz (28%).
A big reason for the plummeting support is Yeşilgöz’s row with singer Douwe Bob. She accused the singer of anti-Semitism on X after he pulled out of a performance at a football tournament for Jewish kids at the last moment at the end of June. Douwe Bob received threats and had to leave the country with his family for a time. Yeşilgöz only apologized and deleted the post after the singer threatened her with a lawsuit.
“Her statements were already unacceptable, but then she didn’t apologize and only took action when threatened with legal action,” one voter told RTL. “She tried a PVV move, but it backfired. She should have known better.”
About a fifth of VVD voters are also unhappy with their party ruling out working with the PVV after the upcoming election. “They’re not right-wing enough anymore. I’m afraid they’ll collaborate with GroenLinks-PvdA.” Others are unhappy with the party’s course and feel the VVD is becoming “too populist.”
Yeşilgöz’s image has not only deteriorated among VVD voters, but also among other voters. In July, she was still the second-most popular candidate for Prime Minister after CDA leader Henri Bontenbal. Now she’s dropped to sixth choice after Bontenbal, D66 leader Rob Jett, GroenLinks-PvdA leader Frans Timmermans, PVV leader Geert Wilders, and JA21 leader Joost Eerdmans.
