In a street bookcase I find a cool copy of the book A new social contract from Pieter Omtzigt. The bookmark betrays that the reader got stuck on page 94. It is the ninth edition of this book published in 2021. Omtzigt is pontifically on the cover in a beautiful dark costume, sunlight on the face – a visionary looks relaxed, but determined ahead.
Who still looks at him four years later? In the Lower House, his name hardly falls anymore, not even in the recent debate about the political chaos that originated, partly due to NSC, the party founded by Omtzigt.
Deeply moved, Omtzigt listened at his farewell in May how Lower House chairman Martin Bosma praised him just about the political grave. Bosma referred to people who say: “I also want to become an Omtzigt.” “Like you there were not two,” Bosma said, “you are leaving as an institution.” Bosma mentioned the twenty seats that NSC won in the elections: “Bigger compliment from the voter is not possible.”
It is all more or less true, but at the same time all those clean words have now faded in the mercilessly sharp light of developments that were already standing at that time. This is what Omtzigt himself said at his farewell as a party leader: “I am proud of our party. And I know that the ideas about more existence and good governance is in excellent hands. I also transmit this to Nicolien van Vroonhoven. I am grateful to voters for support and trust.”
That gratitude from the voter did not last very long; In the polls, the party is now at zero to one seat. Omtzigt and his party feel very opposed by the other parties in the government coalition, as again this week showed the almost desperate resistance of Van Vroonhoven in the Lower House. But I miss hand in my own bosom. Political columnist Hans Goslinga wrote Fidelity: “The danger is therefore not with populists, but with moderate politicians who are willing to help them in power.”
Such a moderate politician was Omtzigt. After a lot of Geaarzel and other time -consuming hassle, he opted for cooperation with Wilders – and helped him in power. As a thank you for that, Wilders is now scolding NSC: “Everything they touch turns into rubble. Only Hamas still supports NSC.”
How could Omtzigt be so naive to trust a politician like Wilders? Femke Zeedijk, apostate MP of NSC, recently told in it de Volkskrant over. Omtzigt saw Wilders win the notorious, manipulated election debate at SBS and said: “Maybe we’ll go with Wilders in a cabinet.” “As long as you let that,” Zeedijk would have said. Omtzigt would have said: “Yes, but Femke, if that happens, I can make him promise everything, he wants to rule so badly.”
It was a fatal miscalculation. Wilders wants to act, not rule. Rather demolition than structure. Omtzigt could have known that if he had studied Wilders’ political behavior. The consequences are full of bitter irony. Wilders enjoys his old position again, the government is just like NSC on its hole and Omtzigt is still looking for a ‘function elsewhere’.