After a day full of interim tests and quizzes, Pieter Omtzigt came to take an oral exam on Monday evening News hour. On Sunday evening he made an interview with the newspaper Tubantia announced that after weeks of hesitation he had decided to set up a new party with the name New Social Contract. His campaign has already started for free and for nothing – and how. Opening of the eight o’clock news. What did I catch? Well, he wants to govern the Netherlands better and differently. I want that too! More transparent, more careful, better controls. Less poverty, more houses. Sounds great, can I already vote for him?
Oh wait, there were also a few ifs and buts. He is seen as troublesome and emotional. Doesn’t matter, that just makes him human, right? He is not a team player, says the Journal. That doesn’t sound sporty, but also a bit like saying at a job interview that your perfectionism is getting in the way. In addition, his tenacity earned him the nickname ‘terrier from Twente’, and everyone knows that a dog is better off fighting alone for a bone. That burnout of his, it must of course be over before he starts this job. Halfway through the summer, he tweeted that he was going on vacation first and then would make a decision about whether or not to have his own party. That party is there, it must be equipped.
With Mariëlle Tweebeeke van News hour he had put on his biggest smile. Everything about him radiated that he was TOTALLY relaxed. The question was not whether he had mastered the material – the trick was to prevent him from discussing the material exhaustively on his own. This was more of a test of character: could he compromise, could he take criticism, and was he sure he could handle the mental burden of leadership? He thought so. Outwardly he remained unmoved under the pressure of Tweebeeke, his smile dug deeper into his face, only his voice sometimes wanted to shoot up at difficult questions. For example, whether Mona Keijzer, former CDA minister, was on his list. There was no list. “Will she be on the list”, Tweebeeke asked. Just in time, he remembered the phrase he had armed himself with: “We will see in the coming months.” Note that consistent use of ‘we’. As if to emphasize that a leader and a team player reside in this one-man.
Venom wrapped in love
Also back after the summer holidays: On 1. The program opened the season with a compilation from the Omtzigt interview by News hour. Henri Bontenbal, the new party leader of the CDA, had the unbelievable misfortune of sitting at the table there today. When asked, he wished former CDA member Omtzigt “good luck” and hoped that he would stay healthy. Venom wrapped in love, leave that to a Christian. On talk show Humberto there was not a single politician. Or Robbert Dijkgraaf, demissionary minister of Education, Culture and Science. But he is not the man to kiss Omtzigt to death in an early election battle. Why should he? I’m sure he’ll find something more fun to do after the November elections.
Who struggled a bit with her role was Caroline van der Plas. For weeks she had given the impression that Omtzigt might join her BBB party. Nevertheless, she congratulated him warmly on Monday via X and she was unable to say anything unkind about Omtzigt or his party to Op1’s reporter from The Hague. But what also failed was to quickly and adequately neutralize this potential magnet for BBB voters. Why a vote for BBB and not for NSC was the question. She stammered something about a game of “paws in the clay” and “roll up her sleeves” and then resorted to the unique selling point from BBB. “I am a very pleasant woman.”