On Sunday H. Numan wrote about the resignation of the Dutch cabinet. Since then, departing Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced that he is retiring from politics, which prompted our Dutch correspondent to send this follow-up.

Mark Rutte politically passed away

by H. Numan

I wrote an article about the fall of the Dutch cabinet. When I wrote it, I thought it might be a trick on the part of Mark Rutte. Yes, he resigned. Slippery as he is, I expected him to go for a fifth cabinet. He hinted at the possibility a couple of days before his resignation. Nothing in our constitution forbids it. However, yesterday he announced he will not run, is retiring from politics. That, my friends, changes everything.

First of all, he has no successor. All previous possible successors never made it. You can fill a small political party with ‘likely successors of Rutte’. None of them is around today. Some disappeared because of their own mistakes, others because they were elevated but found too lightweight and most because rulers who want to be the longest ruler ever don’t like competition.

Not only did Mark Rutte announce he won’t run, but so did Wopke Hoekstra, the current leader of the Christian Democrats. That’s number two to pass into oblivion. Hoekstra is a nonentity; he was elected not on his capacities but for lack of anyone better. CDA has fifteen seats, but may consider themselves blessed by allah and its prophet if they keep ten of them.

A long time ago, Dutch politics used to be simpler. If you were conservative, you’d be voting VVD. If you were conservative and religious, that would be CDA. If you were young and moderately hip, D66 would be your choice. For common people the Labor party (PvdA) would be a nice fit and if you were mentally deranged and self destructive, there’s the Communist Party (CPN). Nice and easy. Americans tend to get dizzy by now, reading about so many parties. This is just a small preview… We have many more parties! One for every day of the month, with plenty of parties left over.

All of the above parties reached a zenith, and then spiraled and descended down to the left. The first one to implode was the Labor party PvdA. They found a new source of voters, those being muslim migrants. The core voters, blue collar workers, were quietly dumped to be replaced by muslims. At least, that is what party elites told one another at parties. What a brilliant idea! Marvelous! The other parties, left and right, followed the lead. Let’s create a new society, just as we desire it to be.

In real life it doesn’t work. Muslims do vote, but only for want of anything better and only if it benefits them directly. The same goes for all parties that currently look down upon and despise Dutch voters without a university degree. What do you do when you are no longer wanted? You go elsewhere. Not because you like it, but because you have to.

The Labor Party pretended to be the party that cared for the working classes. In reality, if you want a career in the PvdA you’d better be a scion from one of party elites or at least university-educated. The only other option was to be the minority of the day (first Surinamese, then Antillean and now Moroccan). The core voters of the PvdA moved away. In droves. Their biggest victory was 56 seats, at this moment the PvdA has… nine. Have they learned anything? Nothing whatsoever.

The second party to implode was the Christian Democrats. For exactly the same reasons. They no longer were Christians but embraced all religions. If virgin-sacrificing Aztecs were to migrate here, they’d be welcomed in the CDA. As there are no virgin-sacrificing Aztecs, the CDA happily accepts virgin-raping mohammedans. If you took your Christianity seriously, you’d be ridiculed. The same thing happened here: the voters moved out, in droves. Where once the CDA picked up forty seats easily, they currently hold fifteen seats — on the way down. If they keep ten seats in the coming elections, that would be proof of divine intervention. Anything more is not realistic, in the walking-on-water realm. Have they learned anything? Nothing whatsoever.

Which brings us back to Rutte. Two parties are going to lose massively in this election: the Conservatives (VVD) and progressives (D66). D66 (Democrats from 1966) is an up-and-down party. In one election they win by a landslide; the next one they almost disappear. D66 has used up all of its political credit. Just about anything they stand for was given away in exchange for political power. It won’t be the first time they’ll have to debate closing down the party.

I never expected Rutte to voluntarily resign. He’s the expert at putting the blame on others, but this time he can’t. Or more correctly: he wants to, but much of the blame sticks to himself. There is simply too much of it. He made sure nobody is waiting in the wings to replace him. That’s gonna hurt now. All party bigwigs are politely declining to take over leadership. Only political small fry are willing to take control of this Titanic.

Until yesterday I assumed Rutte would try again, this time with BBB support. Which is now incorrect, invalidated by more recent events. It’s almost certain the VVD will head for their biggest defeat ever. Few saw the demise of Labor and Christian Democrats coming. I think I may be one of the first to spot the demise of the VVD. For exactly the same reasons the other parties imploded. They no longer represent their electorate. Have they learned anything? Nothing whatsoever.

The biggest defeats happen when buyers or voters vote with their wallet. If you hold stock in Anheuser Busch, better sell it now. The buyers aren’t buying it anymore. No hard feelings, but we prefer something else. You can be as woke as you like, but not with my dollars! Same question here: has Anheuser Busch learned anything from their debacle? Nothing whatsoever. Have they apologized? Not even remotely. Going woke is apparently so important it trumps everything.

The same will happen to the VVD. After Rutte’s retirement announcement they’ll have to find someone else, who ain’t there. There are always replacements. But to find a replacement quickly and give him enough national credibility to run successfully for PM is a bit too much.

The reason why the VVD was the most important party was their position in the center. All major parties in Dutch politics are center parties. Move too far to the left or right, and you lose that position. First the Labor party broke that rule, followed by the CDA. Now the VVD and D66 will discover that, too.

I can’t forecast the elections. But with this information, I really expect a landslide defeat for both VVD and D66. Not for anything else, it’s too soon. But this surely is hopeful.

Another sign Rutte has had it: BBB officially announced they won’t exclude the VVD party but will not work together with Rutte in the same cabinet. Both GL and Labor said exactly the same. Don’t underestimate the power of the discontented rich. GL and Labor are no longer parties for the poor, but now almost exclusively cater for the rich and very rich.

To end on a lighter note: if you as a man desire to be the most beautiful woman in the country, now you can. The new Miss Netherlands is also Miss Pussy, in that she is missing one. A Mr. Rikkie Kollé is the first man who can call himself Miss Netherlands. He didn’t even have to go to the dentist.

— H. Numan

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