Fidan Ekiz gave a big sneer to Sophie Hermans in her talk show Op1 yesterday. She believes that the VVD party leader ‘should cry a little less’ and manage a little more.
Sophie Hermans’ speech at the VVD congress last weekend has quite stirred up tongues. There she tried to deal with critics who accuse her that she only became party leader because her father is a prominent party and because she was the personal assistant of Prime Minister Mark Rutte for years.
crying Sophie
Sophie received an incredibly long applause after the following words: “There are people who think I am here because I am the daughter of Loek Hermans. There are people who think I’m here because I was Mark Rutte’s political assistant. But I am here because I am myself, I am Sophie Hermans.”
Political opponent Geert Wilders immediately knew how to hit Sophie. He called her ‘Mr Rutte’s bag carrier’ during a debate in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, after which the politician had to cry a little. According to critics, this has made her particularly vulnerable.
Fidan lashes out
Fidan Ekiz now throws a big sneer at Sophie. She spoke yesterday in her talk show Op1, where Sophie was not at the table, about the refugee problem. According to her, there is an ‘inhumane situation’ in the asylum seekers’ center in Ter Apel, where there are not enough places to sleep.
The presenter, referring to the crying Sophie: “You can’t get your head around it. Outrageous, yes. You would think that faction leaders might cry a little less because they feel hurt and run the country. Well, I think so.”
Tents away
Fidan also wonders whether the Red Cross would do well to tear down the tents that the organization had set up in Ter Apel. “There’s a reason those tents were set up there. In recent days we have been hearing that refugees have to sleep on chairs, sleep outside.”
She asks Red Cross head Heleen van den Berg: “Now I wonder: I understand that you see – and we all see that too – that the situation has become untenable, but why would you remove those tents?”
“Then they have nothing!”
Heleen points out the cold and the insecurity. “We have always said that these tents are a short-term solution. We believe that asylum seekers in the Netherlands should be received in a dignified manner and we see that this is not feasible at the moment. The situation is also unsafe, things are being stolen from tents and people feel unsafe.”
Fidan: “Then they have nothing left.”
Helen: “This is nothing. It is cold, they are together in a tent. This is not a sustainable situation. At a time when we leave those tents standing, we also do not cooperate on a long-term solution.”
Fragment
The fragment of the emotional Sophie Hermans: