One hundred VVD members have expressed their concerns about the current state of affairs at the party in a letter sent to them. One of them is VVD councilor Bert Homan from Assen. In the letter, the members expressed their concerns about ‘the gap’ between The Hague and the rest of the Netherlands. “The elections are a confirmation of what we already suspect within the party. Something really needs to change,” says Homan.
The opinion of the Asser councilor is widely shared in the letter. It states, among other things, that the elections make it painfully clear that there is a large gulf between The Hague and the rest of the Netherlands. Homan: “I also hear that a lot from my immediate environment. People no longer feel connected to politics. They have not been listened to enough for too long. As VVD, we must ensure that we listen to them again, and translate that into realistic policy.”
Last week’s election result was therefore the last straw for him. “We had already somewhat taken into account a small defeat, but we absolutely did not expect that voters would vote for the BBB so en masse. You notice that politicians have dropped a lot of stitches in recent years and that citizens no longer simply accepts what is decided for them. I don’t blame them, by the way. It simply can’t go on like this anymore.”
Another point that emerges in the letter submitted is that the VVD party leadership does not make enough use of the knowledge and skills of the members in the country. “There are a number of topics, such as nitrogen and the state of nature, that we deal with every day here in ‘the province’. The national party leadership would make it a lot easier for themselves if they would listen to our experiences. We have a lot of practical knowledge that they can easily apply, or at least take with them in future policy.”
Homan is sure that the submitted letter will be taken very seriously in The Hague. “I know that the new chairman of the VVD, Eric Wetzels, takes this situation very seriously. He has also sensed the gap between The Hague and the rest of the country for some time and will certainly respond to it. The VVD must listen to the citizen.”