As the fifth party in the polls, Caroline van der Plas may not participate in every TV debate, but she was in the College Tour yesterday. “But she said almost nothing there!”
Elodie Verweij, chief political officer of the late RTL talk shows, carefully watched the first major television debate in the run-up to the House of Representatives elections. And she was not the only one, because no fewer than 1.1 million people sat in front of the TV last night to watch the College Tour debate with host Twan Huys.
“Where was Caroline?”
Twan’s guest list was remarkable, because in addition to the party leaders of the three largest parties, he also received number five: Caroline van der Plas. Where was number four? Geert Wilders also wondered that; he thinks Twan is a PVV hater. The presenter defends himself by saying that only former College Tour guests attended.
Anyway: Caroline was lucky with that, but according to Elodie she didn’t use it enough. “You saw that certain party leaders took the trouble to break in, for example Timmermans or Dilan Yesilgöz. He also responded quickly to the other questioners. But what struck me most is: where was Caroline van der Plas?”
Uncomfortable setting
Caroline was too invisible, Elodie continues at the table Renze on Sunday. “I thought she was so quiet. You just said it at the announcement: there were four parties and it is actually the fifth party in the polls. So it was a very special moment for her that she was allowed to be there, but she actually just didn’t get involved.”
How is that possible? “She is a little less experienced than the rest. The rest have more debate experience. This was a more uncomfortable setting for her. At the end she came back a bit.”
Left room
Fellow table guest Angela de Jong then notes that there were not exactly Caroline fans in the room. “It wasn’t her hall either, I guess, was it?”
Elodie: “No, I really think it was a Timmermans hall.”
Host Renze Klamer: “A room like this full of students is full of young progressive left-wing voters.”
Elodie: “Yes. He also completely convinced them of the nuclear energy point.”
Small chance for PVV
For a long time, the RTL Prime Minister’s Debate was considered the unofficial kick-off of the election campaign, but it will now take place on Sunday, November 5. The party leaders of the three largest parties in the polls have been invited for this purpose: Dilan Yesilgöz (VVD), Pieter Omtzigt (NSC) and Frans Timmermans (PvdA-GroenLinks).
Bad luck again for Wilders. “There is a small chance that Wilders will also be allowed to join, but then the PVV must rise sharply in the polls before October 26,” says de Volkskrant.