If Pieter Omtzigt only quit the formation because he no longer trusts Ronald Plasterk, then replacing the informateur should be enough. Of course there is more going on.
Omtzigt has stopped the formation discussions with PVV, VVD and BBB because he only received documents at the last minute from informant Ronald Plasterk about the worrying financial situation of the Dutch government, he said on Tuesday. Plasterk himself denied that.
If broken confidence in Plasterk is really the main reason, then replacing Plasterk with another informant should be enough to resume talking. But in reality it is of course also about other things.
In a few subordinate sentences, Omtzigt said that mutual trust between the four parties is not good. In a letter to his members he spoke about castles in the air that the other parties wanted to build.
Who breaks, pays
In the meantime, the three other parties see their opportunity to lay all the blame for the failure of this formation round on Omtzigt. After all, whoever breaks, pays, is the well-known political wisdom.
The trouble is that both Omtzigt and Yeşilgöz do not say out loud what the real problem is. This is of course because Wilders’ PVV and Van der Plas’ BBB have a completely different political style and positions than the VVD and the NSC.
The VVD is a governing party that is used to making compromises and works within the limits of the constitution and European rules. Omtzigt’s New Social Contract may be a new party, but Omtzigt and many of its new MPs are experienced ex-CDA members.
Trumpian style
The PVV and the BBB are completely different. They have a confrontational, Trumpian style. They have no experienced administrators and make all kinds of promises that are difficult or impossible to keep in the Dutch parliamentary system.
But Omtzigt and Yeşilgöz do not say out loud that they cannot work with the PVV and BBB. So many people voted for them that they are impossible to ignore.
So NSC and VVD are making all sorts of impossible adjustments. Yeşilgöz said soon after the elections that her party had lost so much that it was not appropriate to govern. And Omtzigt now blames it on the unexpected financial corpses in the closet. It doesn’t seem credible.