An air of threat hung over the first televised party leader debate of this election campaign throughout Sunday evening. And this is not about the approximately ten pro-Palestinian demonstrators outside the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam, where the RTL debate is being held. This group makes a lot of noise, one of the demonstrators has brought a megaphone. The entire building must be put into lockdown for some time after the debate, because the demonstrators are standing in front of the entrance.
This evening concerns bigger events: the cancellation by Geert Wilders (PVV) and the attack on Frans Timmermans (GroenLinks-PvdA) a few hours before the debate. Both events show that violence, or the threat thereof, can influence the campaign and therefore the democratic process.
Geert Wilders had canceled last Friday and was not persuaded by RTL to come in the following days. Wilders was, as it became clear on Friday, a possible target of terror suspects arrested in Antwerp. RTL had offered to hold the debate in the secure part of the temporary House of Representatives building, or to have it dialed in via a video connection. The PVV refused both options.
PVV campaign suspended
As a result, one of the four places on the debate stage became vacant: Rob Jetten (D66) took Wilders’ place. The debate was between him, Frans Timmermans, Dilan Yesilgöz (VVD) and Henri Bontenbal (CDA). Since Geert Wilders also canceled the debate on NPO Radio 1 last Friday, his campaign no longer exists. He even stopped sending messages on X, his usual way of communicating with the outside world. A consequence of this is that other parties are left behind.
CDA party leader Henri Bontenbal had wanted to “question” Wilders, the leader of by far the largest party in the polls, about the past year. The PVV had governed, but had dropped the Schoof cabinet after eleven months. That subject could not be discussed now. “I’m disappointed about this,” says Bontenbal in the debate. “Hopefully the moment will come.”
This Sunday, a few hours before the debate, a group of right-wing extremists attacked Frans Timmermans on a terrace. A demonstration against asylum and migration policy, mainly attended by right-wing extremists, had just ended on Museumplein.
Demonstrators, surrounded by the Mobile Unit, had held a march through Amsterdam. They chanted slogans such as “Frans Timmermans, you dirty, dirty cancer Jew, just die.” Afterwards it remained restless in the center of Amsterdam. A group of at least a hundred demonstrators set off heavy fireworks on the Prinsengracht and sought confrontation with the riot police. Ultimately, a small group was arrested, the rest was dispersed with a water cannon, police dogs and a superior force of riot police.
‘Left whore child’
At the time this happened, Timmermans was interviewed by a camera crew from RTL News. Images from RTL show that during that interview a group of masked men walked towards him. One man stood right in front of him and called him a “cancer dog” and a “left-wing whore.” Then the man made the Hitler salute. The incident lasted a short time and made a deep impression on several people present.
Threats and violence have become part of Dutch politics. This has been the case since 2002, when LPF party leader Pim Fortuyn was murdered just before the elections. Fortuyn was seriously threatened, but until that murder, the security of politicians was hardly a serious issue.
In the years that followed, almost every prominent politician faced threats. Sometimes it’s not just words. In 2014, former D66 leader Els Borst was murdered in her home. The murderer saw it as a “divine command”, because Borst was in favor of the right to euthanasia. One of her successors, Sigrid Kaag, was visited at home by a man who threatened her with a burning torch. During the time of farmers’ protests, this happened to more politicians, including Minister Christianne van der Wal (VVD, Stikstof). And: during the previous election campaign, in 2023, violence was used several times against FVD leader Thierry Baudet.
Menacing atmosphere
This campaign had already started under an atmosphere of menace. In September, far-right demonstrators tried to attack the D66 party office in The Hague. They broke windows and tried to start fires. That day, a demonstration against asylum policy resulted in large-scale violence. Rob Jetten pointed to Geert Wilders’ “hate speech” as the cause, but also to parties that had collaborated with the PVV in the Schoof cabinet: VVD, NSC and BBB.
Local politicians have been experiencing threats and aggression for some time when it comes to asylum seeker centers. Approximately half of local politicians face threats and violence, recent research showed. The intelligence services have been warning for years about an increase in the threat of violence, especially among extreme right-wing groups.
The consequence of this ever-present threat is harmful in more ways than one at the same time. Politicians can no longer always move freely. Politicians such as Wilders and VVD leader Dilan Yesilgöz are heavily protected, which hinders their contact with voters. But the effects are deeper: sometimes politicians start to watch their words, or they skip meetings. Or: people with political ambitions should be careful before they become politically active.
Rob Jetten says after the debate that “everyone is really alert.” He had heard about the “intense moment” surrounding Frans Timmermans and talked about it with his colleague. But it is also difficult, he says: “As a politician you can never rule out all risks.”
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