This week it was announced that former Minister of Social Affairs and Employment Wouter Koolmees will become president of NS (Nederlandse Spoorwegen). You would say: how nice that he hardly made use of his redundancy payment scheme, but SP MP Renske Leijten came fairly quickly after the press release. with a sneer on Twitter: “Because he knows so much about trains (he also had a lot of knowledge about social matters).” She closed with #job carousel.
We know that these kinds of populist statements are common with the PVV and FVD under the guise of being critical. But this time it was the SP.
Leijten has done an excellent job of unraveling the Allowance scandal. She was rewarded with 143,924 preferential votes in the last parliamentary elections. She is a celebrity on Twitter: more than 103,000 followers enjoy her comments almost daily. That gives her a responsibility.
The FNV union has confidence in Wouter Koolmees as the new NS CEO. According to Henri Janssen of FNV Spoor, who represents the interests of employees and members, is the former minister a ‘connecter’; Koolmees’ political experience is, according to the FNV, “a plus”. Janssen expects that the personnel problems that have arisen at NS can be solved with Koolmees at the helm. The works council of the NS has also given positive advice, while this works council regularly whistles back at management decisions.
Very different sounds are heard on social media. ‘We are corrupt’ and ‘The Netherlands is Venezuela’, according to responses to Luijten’s tweet. A major conspiracy, many think: D66 has of course arranged the appointment. Because why was the vacancy never published? The viceroy of the underbelly Willem Engel also took off with Leijten’s tweet. There is talk of ‘corruption’, according to the founder of Virus Truth and suspected of incitement.
I am concerned about the war in Ukraine. I am also concerned about extreme inflation. And of course I am concerned about an impending economic crisis. But my biggest concern is the growing indifference of people who are increasingly turning their backs on politics and government. This mistrust is not only caused by the Allowances affair. It is also due to the deliberate undermining of politics, government and thus society by Baudet and Wilders and their right-wing populist supporters. One would hope that politicians in the center and on the left would not get involved. But unfortunately my impression – I’ve been an active twitterer for years – is that they too have become more susceptible to unfounded populist hooting on social media.
It is the task of MPs to critically monitor and question the cabinet. But Leijten’s tweet has nothing to do with that. This is unfounded and biased and increases mistrust of the government and the gap between citizens and politics. Politicians must realize the impact of their statements on social media. Suggesting wrongdoing or making people suspicious without knowledge is a form of undermining.
Although the shares of NS are owned by the State, the railway company is an NV and is also run in that way. The search for a new CEO is similar to that of large companies such as Shell, ING or ASML. Commissioned by the supervisory board, a headhunter searches for a list of suitable candidates, which, after a series of tough conversations and reference checks, is reduced to an increasingly limited number of top candidates, of whom only one remains. There is no political backroom or horse trading involved. NS, the trade unions and the Works Council would absolutely not accept that either.
MPs from responsible parties, and certainly someone who has earned her spurs such as Renske Leijten, should first investigate before they tweet nonsense. For example, by asking State Secretary Vivianne Heijnen of Infrastructure (CDA) how such an appointment is made. Or call the chairman of the supervisory board of NS, who can provide insight into how such procedures work and how to arrive at lists of candidates.
If there is a political cover-up somewhere, you hope that Renske Leijten will tackle it. But by a Leijten who sincerely searches for the facts and the truth, as she did with Pieter Omtzigt during the Allowances affair. And as Omtzigt is currently doing in sharp parliamentary debates about the new pension system. But with her Koolmees tweet she joins the ranks of populist popular deceivers and inciters whom the SP says it hates so much.
Aylin Bilic is a head hunter and publicist.
A version of this article also appeared in the newspaper of October 13, 2022