Luuk Ikink is not impressed by Wilfred Genee as debate leader. The RTL star was quite disturbed by him during The Debate of the Netherlands. “He keeps talking through it!”
The first TV debate with Geert Wilders is over: yesterday he confronted Dilan Yesilgöz, Frans Timmermans and Henri Bontenbal in Het Debat van Nederland. The whole thing was led by Wilfred Genee, who was in a rather cheerful mood. The Today Inside star stood at the desk with a horn, which he used when there was too much chatter.
Luuk critical
Luuk Ikink, however, thinks that Wilfred in particular cackled too much. “Why does Wilfred talk all the time through all the politicians? He almost actively complements their positions. A kind of mix between leading the debate and conducting an interview. In terms of debate leadership in the major debates, Fons Lambie is still at the top,” he fumes. X.
The format of the debate is pleasant, says the RTL Boulevard star. “I really enjoy responding to practical problems from random voters. It immediately makes it much more concrete.”
Serving role
VI expert Victor Vlam believes that Wilfred was indeed very much in search of attention. “Wilfred would have done well to make it less of a VI. An election debate is about the party leaders, not the presenter. He has a serving role,” he says on X.
He continues: “Unlike in a talk show, you don’t need someone to spice things up during an election debate. The viewer’s interest is already there and the party leaders don’t need to be cheered on.”
One-liner
Who, according to Victor, emerged strongest from the debate? “The most memorable one-liner of the debate came from Yesilgöz: ‘The PVV consists of one man with a Twitter account.’ That is an advantage in the afterthoughts where this will be repeated endlessly. That can help the VVD.”
Who did he think was the weakest? “It is a busy debate and Bontenbal is trying to radiate calm. But it comes across as if he is letting himself eat the cheese from the bread. This is not strong.”
‘Shut your mouth!’
By the way, viewers are also critical of Wilfred. “Wilfred Genee, with all due respect, shut your mouth for once! It’s not about you! Let those people speak substantively!” says a certain Rob on X.
And Thomas: “Who ever thought that Wilfred Genee could lead a serious election debate? A debate leader doesn’t talk through everything.”