The latest plot twist in the Dutch political crisis concerns the decision by Pieter Omtzigt to form his own political party. Our Dutch correspondent H. Numan has the details.

Old wine in new wineskins

by H. Numan

The Dutch elections are going to be a real clown show. A major player just showed he’s not Lazarus of Bethany, he is actually Judas Iscariot. I’m talking about Pieter Omtzigt, the Oscar-worthy (best performance) ex-CDA politician. He announced the formation of his own party Nieuw Social Contract or New Social Contract. Hey, a New Social Contract? What a strange name for a political party. Haven’t I heard it somewhere before? Yup, I did! I did see a new social contract. From the moment Pieter Omtzigt left his old party, the Christian Democrats, I had strong doubts about him. They were confirmed two days ago.

The man is hugely popular, and rightly so. He performs excellently in the role of an honest politician. He was the guy who dug in to the MH 17 affair. In 2014 an Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 was shot down by a Russian BUK missile. Everyone onboard, 298 persons, died. Omtzigt investigated this case, and came to conclusions his party and the government didn’t like. They REALLY didn’t like it. So much so that he was ordered to do something else. He was taken off the case. Later he dug into the childcare benefits scandal. Again he was successful. His investigation caused the collapse of the government. That happened only last year; it was the previous government.

By then, his party elite had had enough of him. They didn’t call out ‘Will no one rid me of this turbulent politician?’ They were politicians after all, and perfectly capable of doing the job themselves. Out came the knives. Gossip, slander, lies, insinuations, accusations, you just name it. Anything goes, and anything went. Omtzigt had a nervous breakdown. He took a leave of absence, and a bit later resigned from the party, keeping his seat. This was big news in The Netherlands. Something like that doesn’t happen every day. What was he going to do? Set up his own party? Join another party? The polls went wild.

I had my reservations about Omtzigt, from the moment he was ostracized. All politicians are actors, none exempted. Omtzigt performs the role of the scrupulously honest politician who is not ambitious. That’s a contradiction of epic proportions. All politicians are ambitious. Especially if they are in the top rank. Omtzigt was number two in his party. You only get there by being extremely ambitious. Pretending to be anything else is for me a red flag.

Another red flag is what he doesn’t say. During his time as an independent parliamentarian I noticed he nearly always voted with the government and his ex-party. Rarely anything else. He wasn’t ousted for his political views, but because they hated him as a person. So much so that his party preferred (political) death over premiership. Not once, but twice. Promoting Omtzigt to the number one spot as party leader would make him the next premier, without any doubt. First they rigged internal elections to favor Hugo de Jonge, a peacock with fancy shoes. That didn’t work out well, so they picked another nonentity. Anything but Omtzigt. That nonentity just resigned from politics. The polls rate the CDA as dropping to no more than 6 seats, down from 15. Very likely fewer. This party ruled the country from the 1890s until 2006, usually as the biggest party. How the might can fall!

For weeks Omtzigt kept everybody guessing. Last Monday he made his choice. He’s going to set up a new party, New Social Contract. During the press conference he said he would never work with two parties: the PVV and the FvD. He would be willing to work with BBB, but they have to understand that farms ‘have to be sanitized’. Not only that, he also said he does not want to become premier. Who will be prime minister if his party wins the elections he didn’t say.

There you go, folks. Politics is as clear as mud, but in this my worst fears came true. This Pieter Omtzigt is worshiped by the electorate as their savior. He’ll put things right! Vote for him, and your worries are over! Will he cure my sore toe? Yessir, he will! Step right up, especially those with sore toes!

Not willing to run for prime minister seems fashionable. The leader of the Farmer’s Party, Caroline van der Plas, also made it known she is not available. She even gave a reason for that, or rather a feeble excuse: she doesn’t want to wear high heels and fancy clothes. Which is true; she dresses like an overweight hillbilly after mucking out the barn. Oh, before I forget: parliamentarians get an allowance for representation costs. They are paid to dress appropriately.

But back to Judas Iscariot. What do we know?

• He follows 100% his old CDA course. Doesn’t deviate from it.
• Against Nexit.
• Very much pro-EU.
• Continues the boycott against PVV and FvD.
• Asylum seekers are not an issue for him.
• Farmers have to disappear. He is somewhat careful with his words here. He uses the word sanitized. Whatever that means.
• His party is named New Social Contract. Kind of a giveaway, I think.

If anyone — regretfully, that’ll be a lot — votes for Pieter Omtzigt, they will be voting for Klaus Schwab. You will own nothing. And you will be happy about it.

— H. Numan

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