As expected, the negotiations for a new Dutch government have hit an iceberg. Our Dutch correspondent H. Numan sends some educated guesses about what might lie ahead.
Pieter Omtzigt with the mask off
Between a rock and hard place
by H. Numan
The formation of a new cabinet in The Netherlands is dead in the water. Mr. Pieter Omtzigt walked out, for the flimsiest of reasons: he didn’t think the budget would be handled properly by the new cabinet. Nobody believes him. His party tanked from 20 seats to 11 seats in the subsequent poll. He still wants to support a PVV cabinet, but only as a minority government. What’s going to happen now is anyone’s guess.
I told you we have a pretty clear electoral result: it’s going to be either a somewhat conservative government led by the PVV, or an extreme left-wing cabinet led by the PvdA-GL. No other combinations are realistic.
Mr. Omtzigt’s suggestion for a minority cabinet is ludicrous. Most people don’t believe him anymore, if only for that flimsy excuse. Supposing Wilders were to go for that option, his cabinet wouldn’t last long. Omtzigt would blow it up on the first possible opportunity, no matter how minute, trivial or outright silly the issue might be. Wilders is the longest-serving politician in Parliament, so he knows that, too.
I had my doubts about Mr. Omtzigt, and told you many times about them. For those who don’t know: Pieter Omtzigt was a CDA politician; in that party he held two positions. He was their no. 2 man, and enfant terrible. All politicians are actors. Some are better than others, but they all are. Wilders, for example, stands out because of his hairstyle. That’s his trademark. His nickname is Blondie or Mozart.
Omtzigt played the role of a very conscientious hard-working politician (that he is), selfishly working for the betterment of the country and his party (bull crap). He led several investigations that didn’t make him a lot of friends in his party. The shooting down of the Malaysian Airlines MH 17 affair he investigated, and presented a report that was controversial for the government. Part of that government was his CDA party. He correctly placed most of the blame on Russia, something that the government rather wanted to ignore, but couldn’t after his investigation. Another investigation was the Childcare Scandal. This caused the collapse of the previous government, in which his own party CDA was a coalition partner.
As he was number two in the party, there were only two ways his career could go: up or out. Either he would become the next CDA leader or he would step out of the party. CDA leadership knew he was hugely popular, so they rigged the leadership elections. Not once, but twice. Just to keep him from the no. 1 spot. Had they elected him as the new leader, we’d have a CDA government right now. Instead they opted for a campaign of gossip, slander and innuendo that drove him out of the party after a nervous breakdown. The once almighty CDA has now shriveled to a mere fringe party.
At the time, I wondered why they preferred oblivion. His recent actions told me why. This man is a loose cannon. Uncontrollable, and worse: unreasonable. He knows everything, and you have to do exactly as he wants. If not, he throws a temper tantrum and has a nervous breakdown until he gets his way. However, there is more. Omtzigt is a wobbler. His favorite game is the yes-no game. That goes for most politicians, but he excels in it. He doesn’t want to say yes, because that would alienate some voters, but also he doesn’t want to say no, in fear of losing other voters. He is a guy sitting eternally on the fence.
He also fears responsibility. One of the reasons why he didn’t win the elections was that he openly said he didn’t want to become the next PM, without telling us who his candidate for PM would be. Only on the very last moment (mere days before the elections) did he decide to accept that position after all, but the damage was done. It played a big part why his party ended in third place. A lot of people, myself included, say: if you don’t want to become prime minister, why set up your own party?
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