Wouter de Winther, like most other people, thinks that his fellow reporter Jaïr Ferwerda is lying about a one-two punch with Frans Timmermans. “I don’t think anyone believes that.”
Jaïr Ferwerda’s credibility is at stake. This week he said in his RTL column that he had traveled to Maastricht ‘on spec’ in the hope of speaking to Frans Timmermans. Suddenly we see the reporter standing at a traffic light, while the former GroenLinks-PvdA leader ‘coincidentally’ cycles by.
‘What nonsense!’
Frans was quite unrecognizable with his cap and sunglasses on, Maastricht is a big city and the chance that Jaïr happens to be on a cycle path where the former politician comes cycling is small. Negligibly small. Yet both parties maintain that this was a chance meeting, but it is unclear why they would lie about it.
There is a lot of joking going on here, thinks Wilfred Genee. “What kind of nonsense is this!” he exclaims Today Inside.
‘I don’t believe it’
Telegraaf journalist Wouter de Winther thinks that Jaïr is a lying man. “So I don’t believe it happened spontaneously.”
Wilfred: “No!”
Wouter: “But I don’t think anyone believes that. Not even you. You also said yesterday: ‘This can’t be spontaneous!’”
Johan Derksen: “No, what nonsense, you’re not going to Maastricht on spec, are you?”
Bottle of drink
Jaïr is completely out of line, Wouter thinks. “You also have a bottle of drink with you in case you encounter him. Maastricht isn’t that small, I thought? I think it’s a bit of a strange story.”
Johan: “The most embarrassing thing is that Frans had nothing to say at all.”
Jaïr has denied agreements with Frans in a written response.