Prime Minister Jetten urges FVD leader to address antisemitism within party

Prime Minister Rob Jetten has called on Lidewij de Vos, leader of Forum voor Democratie (FVD), to take action against antisemitism within her party, citing “clear signals” involving party members.

Jetten said, "I call on the party leader, as I do with other party leaders, to get to work when there are obvious signals that members of your party are doing or have done things in the past that are unacceptable."

The comments follow NRC's reporting identifying far-right candidates on FVD lists for municipal elections. According to the newspaper, candidate Kay Burgemeester had previously made antisemitic statements, including sharing a conspiracy theory claiming that Jews are responsible for migration from other parts of the world. Burgemeester serves as FVD’s faction leader in Schagen, where the party secured three seats in the municipal council.

In a response posted on X, De Vos urged the prime minister to focus on “solving the major problems in the Netherlands.” She cited what she described as an unaffordable energy transition, asylum migration, and high taxes, adding: “Get to work.”

De Vos did not address the antisemitism allegations in her response. Previously, she dismissed far-right statements by some FVD candidates as “youthful indiscretions.”