Now that the dust in The Hague has largely settled, the question arises: what exactly is going on? Okay, Pieter Omtzigt is a bit confused, but he has been that way before. He is recovering “at home in Enschede”, and his wife will certainly get him back on track – back to The Hague.
They will want to bring him in there like a prodigal son, because they need him all too badly to form their favorite center-right cabinet. Wilders will promise not to spread any more nasty tweets (“Catholic creep”) about him, and Yesilgöz also swallows her snide indignation. Caroline van der Plas will shed another tear.
How could it come to this? What inspired Omtzigt? This is what the journalistic reconstructions will mainly be about. The TV broadcast of Humberto with Omtzigt will not be of much use to the researchers.
There sat the politician who had promised the country a new administrative culture, playing a caricature of a politician who is stuck in the old administrative culture. Half-answers, evasive formulations, uncertainty about future steps – the entire repertoire was completed. Afterwards, the entire watching Netherlands hung on the ropes, groaning, while the politician got into the taxi to Enschede, mumbling.
Yes, what got into him? Perhaps we should not indulge in too much deep psychological speculation. Because Omtzigt is a doubting person, we must also give him the benefit of that doubt. Halfway through the path to final collaboration with his colleagues, he will be overwhelmed by a feeling of deep depression. What was he supposed to do with such people? A political crook like Wilders, an ignorant politician like Van der Plas, an insecure VVD leader like Yesilgöz? Should he tie his political future to this? When some of his faction members also expressed their doubts, something snapped within him. He ran off.
Actually, that speaks for him – and for his conscience. Omtzigt is the only one of this group, including informant Ronald Plasterk, who has demonstrated a more or less principled aversion to Wilders’ ideas. Wilders nowadays pretends that he will respect the rule of law, but Omtzigt knows that he will never be able to trust his colleague in this. That realization gnaws at him. He hears the voices, also from his CDA past, that chanted: “Don’t do it!” They shouted in vain, but they were later proven right.
Omtzigt will hopefully be resting in Enschede on Wednesday de Volkskrant read the interview with the famous Mussolini expert Antonio Scurati. He is very concerned about the Netherlands, a country he used to admire for its strong democratic tradition. Scurati: “As soon as the liberals join forces with Wilders, a process of normalization begins. I’ve seen that happen in Italy. (…) I believe that liberals should never make the mistake of governing together with parties that are essentially illiberal. (…) If the Dutch liberals do that, they bear a serious historical responsibility for the future.”
Will Wilders succeed? His political fate lies in the hands of a born doubter. Just wait and see.