Jan Struijs from 50Plus has an appointment with informant Sybrand Buma last Wednesday at 12.15 pm. That day, the faction leaders of the small parties may visit Buma one by one. But Struijs is having his conversation, he tells me, by telephone. He’s ready at noon. There are notes, file folders, and his telephone on the table in his office.
Most small parties already have the idea that they will hardly participate in this formation. It is almost certainly the last time that their leaders walk up the escalator at the staff entrance to the door of the ‘formation quarters’ – past reporters, photographers, cameramen. With a story that they have thought up in advance.
Invisible, and much more important for the formation, in recent weeks were Buma’s telephone calls with the leaders of D66, CDA, VVD, GroenLinks-PvdA, JA21. They also called and texted each other, there were secret coffee appointments. But Buma and those party leaders also thought the two seats of 50Plus were important: Jan Struijs and Corrie van Brenk could help a right-wing coalition gain a majority in the House of Representatives.
Jan Struijs was fully involved in the phone calls, apps and appointments, and that is probably why 50Plus made a mistake on Wednesday afternoon: Struijs was called around 12.30. Where is he? Together with an employee who knows his way around the House of Representatives much better than he does, Struijs tries to get to Buma as quickly as possible.
CDA leader Henri Bontenbal comes to the SP to sign his own book
Joost Eerdmans from JA21 walks in the hallway of 50Plus on Wednesday morning and I think: he has come for backroom consultations with Struijs. But that is not the case. He is looking for the old office of Pieter Omtzigt, who worked with NSC in the hallway where 50Plus temporarily has four rooms. After the Christmas holidays, 50Plus will move to the corridor of Volt leader Laurens Dassen, who in turn will be given the offices of JA21. JA21 goes to the corridor where D66 is currently located, and D66 gets the entire former NSC corridor. Joost Eerdmans has heard from D66 that Omtzigt has left behind a glass conference table that Rob Jetten does not want.
Eerdmans looks at the table and takes pictures. He likes it.
Earlier that morning I had met CDA leader Henri Bontenbal on the SP corridor, he was with Jimmy Dijk. Even then I thought: would the CDA be looking for support from the SP for something in the formation? And that wasn’t right either. Bontenbal came his book Things can really be different signing, Jimmy Dijk’s brother wanted to give it to someone as a gift.
Most of the offices of the NSC members are still empty and on Wednesday afternoon, after his conversation with Sybrand Buma, Jan Struijs sees that D66 is already taking over the corridor. D66 employees sat in the rooms near the elevator and placed a yellow-green D66 banner with the campaign slogan ‘It is possible’. Struijs says that a 50Plus banner should be placed next to it. And otherwise D66 will have to go.
The next day he says that he has spoken to the D66 members about it. “I said: you are crowding out the old people.” They laughed, he says.
“They also said: you are Jan Struijs, we hear from everyone that we have to keep you as a friend.”
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