Fidan Ekiz drops a big bomb. She states that Op1 should be off the air because of Geert Wilders’ huge election victory. “The NPO wants to form a bloc.”
The news that Op1 is disappearing from the air to make way for Khalid & Sophie is a shock to many people. It is also the ultimate revenge for BNNVARA, because they left Op1 with a ticket in the summer. They left EO, MAX and WNL behind, making Op1 now a kind of evangelical retirement club with a touch of populism.
Fidan worried
According to Fidan Ekiz, that is precisely what they no longer want at the NPO now that Geert Wilders’ right-wing populist party has become the largest in the elections. And that is why Op1 is being victimized, according to her.
Fidan calls the public broadcaster’s approach ‘unprofessional’ and has strong doubts about the actual motivation. “I think it is careless and I actually find it very worrying, because we also understand that this was partly preceded by a political decision. And I have questions about that,” she says The Telegraph.
Block against Wilders
There must be clarity, says Fidan. “We hear things like that Op1 would have made Wilders great, that the NPO should form a left-progressive bloc. I have questions about that.”
It is unclear whether that is true, but the fact is that BNNVARA did convene a mourning meeting after the PVV’s victory. There, employees and presenters could mourn together. Fidan believes that the public broadcaster ‘should not be supported by political interests’, especially not ‘on the backs’ of employees.
What does Tina say?
Television authority Tina Nijkamp finds Fidan’s statements remarkable. “Fidan Ekiz thinks that there may have been ‘a political decision’ that preceded the termination of Op1. That really seems like a bridge too far and is not logical at all,” she says analysis channel.
According to her, there are two reasons for stopping Op1. “Too low viewing figures and little prospect of improvement. And Eva Jinek is coming and space simply has to be made for that.”