Towards the end of the day it scoured for a moment, at the D66 congress in the Brabanthallen in Den Bosch. The election program for the parliamentary elections at the end of this month was under discussion on Saturday, one of the most important plans is to build ten new cities. They must also be built in the green. The D66 members had submitted a series of change proposals.
Party member Tim de Haan argues for a different course: build city borders. “We lose greenery in this way,” he warned. The plan to build Buitenstadelijk would, he said, at the expense of nature and distracting structural solutions for the housing market.
De Haan received little support. Other members spoke about living as “a big problem”, which, according to them, also requires “great thinking”. But according to another member, the Tienstededenplan is “hollow election rhetoric.” Yet D66 should not limit itself to building within the urban boundaries.
The congress voted 94 percent against the Haans proposal. Party leader Rob Jetten can continue with broad support with his plan for ten new cities.
Euthanasia
D66 congressed on Saturday in the Brabanthallen in Den Bosch. Where there was no doubt about the course of the party at earlier congresses, this time is not noticeable. With 25 days to go until the elections, members sound in good spirits. The congress comes for the party at a good time time; Without exception, members refer to ‘favorable’ polls for their optimism.
“We are on the rise, that gives more jeu to the congress,” says Matthijs Kramer (30) from Dordrecht. Does he have a statement? “I think Rob Jetten is looser than he was in the past.”
Read also
‘Rob de Bouwer’ wants to pull D66 to the middle
In the past year and a half, D66 has always surveyed around 9 seats – the same as the number that the party achieved in the last elections. That was a major relapse at the time: in 2021 D66 still made 24 seats.
In recent weeks a plus behind D66 has appeared in the polls. The party is currently at 11 to 14 seats in the poller, the weighted average of IPSOS I&O and Verian/EenVandaag.
D66 prominents during the election congress in the Brabanthallen, on Saturday.
Jeroen Jumelet/ANP
That increase seems to be partly related to the person Rob Jetten. Several polls show that voters appreciate his style. Ipsos I&O noted that Jetten is the most popular left-progressive party leader.
It makes both members and jettes think aloud about possible coalitions this Saturday. Many parties take into account that they will be needed for a new government. But according to members, D66 is in a particularly good starting position. The party tries to position itself more emphatically in the political center, the VVD loses ground, GroenLinks-PvdA is stagnating and many parties exclude the PVV.
Beating heart
Since the fall of the Schoof cabinet on 3 June, Rob Jetten has been conducting a tightly directed campaign, with emphasis on the housing shortage. In the run -up to earlier elections, he mainly spoke about climate, and for that you could hear D66 about education. Moreover, he tries to tell an optimistic political story, with which he tries to get rid of the quarrel in The Hague in the past year and a half.
Jetten has traveled through the country in recent weeks to talk to people who do not vote for D66, an important part of the D66 campaign. In the Brabanthallen in Den Bosch, Jetten will give an energetic speech around noon on Saturday, in which he also talks about his tour through the Netherlands. Furthermore, the speech seems primarily intended to make it clear that D66 wants to rule. Left, right, but preferably through the middle. “We want to be the throbbing and progressive heart of that new Dutch government.”
In his speech, the party leader warns of ‘anti -democrats’ and Geert Wilders of the PVV, but also opts for a positive tone. He hands out compliments to two political competitors: Frans Timmermans (GroenLinks-PvdA), because he managed to convince his supporters of the importance of defense investments, and Henri Bontenbal (CDA), who, according to Jetten, shows the mortgage interest deduction.
It is striking that in his speech Jetten does not devote a word to the VVD, the other party that calls itself liberally. And that while D66 in recent months in debates and media has been firmly taken to the party of Dilan Yeşilgöz. In retrospect, Jetten says that he “does not know what Dilan Yeşilgöz is doing.” He does not call her preferred coalition – with VVD, D66, BBB, CDA and JA21 – not his first choice, but he is not rejecting either.
Noaberhood
The congress decides to adjust the election program on a few points. For example, a majority wants medical-ethical achievements-such as the right to euthanasia and abortion-to be included in the Constitution. The members also vote for a ban on smoking on terraces and cars in which children are present. Furthermore, a majority wants to remove from the program that D66 is in favor of an elected Prime Minister and chosen mayors.
Members listen to Rob Jetten speech during the D66 party congress, Saturday.
Jeroen Jumelet/ANP
An adjustment proposal from a D66 member to weaken the somewhat stricter course of D66 on asylum does not get a majority. D66 argues for asylum application to the European external borders, instead of in the Netherlands.
Read also
“Why do we accept that the Dutch flag is only fluttering on the PVV poster proudly?”
In his speech, Jetten also refers to the extreme right-wing protests on the Malieveld two weeks earlier, with the D66 party office in The Hague thrown in. “The rioters always shouted: we are the Netherlands. But I say to them crystal clear: your violence is not the Netherlands.” According to Jetten, the Netherlands is a country of ‘Mienskip and noaberhood“A striking choice of words: with those terms, the BBB still had a successful campaign in the Provincial Council elections in 2023.
A huge waving Dutch flag appears behind Jetten. “Don’t be shocked!” He says. According to Jetten, the tricolor seems to be hijacked by the extreme right. “But that flag belongs to all of us.”
NEW: Give this article as a gift
As an NRC subscriber you can do every month 10 articles Give a gift to someone without an NRC subscription. The recipient can read the article directly, without a payment wall.