Caroline van der Plas disappointed me, but I’m not giving up on her yet

Kustaw BessemsOctober 21, 202216:20

Did Caroline van der Plas do exactly what I hoped of her this week? Or did she just disappoint me?

Some highly educated progressives were outraged when I recently gave her and her BBB a possible role in the struggle – because that’s where we are, nationally and internationally – for the democratic rule of law and against rising fascism. Still, I’ll stick with that for now.

I would prefer politicians who always relentlessly take the principles of the democratic constitutional state as a guideline and explain it enthusiastically. But I can name few. And it is a fact that about one fifth of the Dutch population is a staunch supporter of movements that actually erode the rule of law. You have to do something with those people.

You can speak shame, mourn, cry ah and woe, grumble or puke if necessary. Makes sense, because with that you set the limit of what can be discussed. But it is not enough to win over more Dutch people to the idea that you can fight out political differences without trampling on each other.

In the long term, policy is essential, policy through which people see that a free, open society also works for them. Professor Caspar van den Berg emphasized in an interview I had with him that there is great unease in rural areas where amenities and activities have disappeared, where your chances in life are smaller and where residents are left to their own devices by the government. But I fear that the revulsion is spreading faster than policy can come about and in the meantime, politics is needed that inspire confidence that such an improvement is on the way.

That role simply does not suit a party such as D66, which is disconcerting for everyone who has not fully followed the momentum of the nations. Neither does the Prime Minister, who is now laughing at his own unscrupulousness. Or had you not seen him recently for the parliamentary committee of inquiry that is investigating how the lives of so many Groningen residents in the earthquake area could be ruined. He really couldn’t find a secret memo that had been given to him by his good friend the Shell director anywhere in his department. That was laughing!

And left? The left works on the grassroots of the extreme right like a red rag to a bull. No one there who succeeds in convincingly connecting solidarity with immigrants and solidarity with Dutch people who are less fortunate.

Meanwhile, things are moving further and further towards the extremists. There was a lot of gibberish this week about Thierry Baudet saying that we are ruled by a secret society of reptilian creatures. As if he had really put himself out of order. But in reality that order went straight into a hole behind it, microphones in hand: ‘Mr Baudet, what exactly did you mean?’ After which he was able to play the murdered innocence again and what we consider negotiable was stretched further.

For example, JA21 can now pose as decent, because they don’t believe in ruling reptiles there. It is no longer about the fact that the club consists of Baudet’s companions who only turned their backs on him when the brown fumes were too much in the way of publicity. Raising someone’s record of service is considered unsociable in the Dutch public debate. Especially with such a nice guy like Joost Eerdmans. Or as he is called behind the turntable at Nieuwspoort parties: ‘DJ Jopie’.

Historian Robin te Slaa, who specializes in fascism and always cautious in his conclusions, let out a cry for help in this newspaper: ‘Although the dog whistles and the disguising language is not recognizable to everyone, Baudet and his party indisputably display characteristics of fascism. (…) Given the ideological affinity with other right-wing extremists, who according to the AIVD are anticipating a coming race war in the Netherlands, there is very little reason to make us happy about Baudet.’

The time has really long come to just about Baudet to speak and no more of it.

But what about the people? The voters drifting away from the democratic constitutional state? Through them I arrive at my Caroline van der Plas dilemma. It does not have the tainted past of JA21 and is one of the few, nevertheless, a credible voter alternative for the rule of law walkers of Forum and PVV. And now the House voted last week on a suspension of Baudet, because he does not give up commercial additional income. The demolishers, of course, walked away from the vote. An overwhelming majority of the House voted in favour. And VanderPlas?

She voted against, because she believes that in a democracy an elected representative should never be excluded from meetings. This may have prevented her from alienating potential followers. Still, I would have liked it if she had explained in her clear style that a democratic constitutional state consists of forces – most votes apply – and opposing forces. So elected representatives of the people must also be transparent and verifiable, and other representatives of the people can oversee this as the highest organ.

She disappointed me, I think. But I haven’t given up on her yet.

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The rule of law

Few can speak with so much love about the rule of law as legal philosopher Dorien Pessers. In fact, she no longer wants to participate in the public debate since her retirement, but she makes an exception for the Volkskrant podcast Stuurloos. With Kustaw Bessems she discusses how important it is to deviate from rules, why she is annoyed by personal stories of MPs, what the danger is of the ‘scared men’ at Forum and why the Zuidas is a problem district:

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