Renze Klamer is seriously disappointing as debate leader. Not only was he in the flop setting of RTL Tonight yesterday with six party leaders, but he was also in a shambles himself. “He really has no grip at all.”
Things can move quickly in Hilversum with one rising star: in the spring you present a successful talk show with the prospect of a great future as the talk show host of RTL 4, in the autumn you are in an unfortunate setting presenting a huge flop. RTL Tonight failed, but Renze Klamer still got six party leaders to show up for a debate.
Bad leader
The low viewing figures seem to be taking their toll on Renze. Not only has he been disappointing in terms of content at RTL Tonight lately, he was also completely out of shape last night during the second RTL debate in the run-up to the elections.
TV critic Victor Vlam writes X: “Renze Klamer has no control over the debate and is disappointing as a discussion leader. There is a lot of talking at the same time. It is sometimes difficult for the viewer to follow.”
‘Setting doesn’t help’
That RTL Tonight set remains a nuisance to Renze, Victor thinks. “What doesn’t help Renze is the setting, the desk in the shape of a semicircle. If two party leaders standing next to each other react to each other, it is difficult to intervene as a discussion leader. But apart from that, Renze should have been much more on top of things.”
Victor is far from alone in his opinion. For example, a certain Rens writes: “Renze could do with keeping them a little shorter, what a cackling at the same time. This way the viewer doesn’t get a good picture of the games.”
Dramatic
Eugen calls Renze a ‘bad debate leader’ and Jacobus says: “Exactly, the debate is led really dramatically and then you get that cackling again. Really terribly irritating.”
And finally, viewer Hans: “I don’t think it’s a fun debate. It’s unclear what Frits Wester’s input is, Gijs from the news panel with the statistics actually hinders a good discussion at the table. And Renze loses control a little too often. Too bad.”