It could not be called a real campaign kick-off, Saturday afternoon in Theater Buitensoos in Zwolle, but it was Rob Jetten’s first official appearance as party leader of D66. He gave his maiden speech as the new party leader to a closed group of (local) party leaders and representatives of the people.
His first speech on this ‘political network day’ had to radiate idealism, militancy and confidence towards the upcoming campaign. “D66 doesn’t just talk about change. D66 brings change,” he said. “A strong D66 is very much needed, even after November 22.” And: “For the first time since 2002, there is no sitting prime minister on the ballot paper. Everything is now possible.”
Words of hope, while a resounding election result is not in the cards for D66 at the moment. In recent polls, the party has more than halved the current 24 seats in the House of Representatives. While the political wisdom of former party leader Alexander Pechtold – “Governing is halving” – was not forthcoming after participation in Rutte III (2017-2021), participation in the prematurely broken marriage of convenience Rutte IV still seems to result in an electoral punishment for the party.
Submissive role
In addition, D66 threatens to play a subordinate role in the coming campaign months. New political leaders are attracting attention – at the VVD, at the CDA, at GroenLinks-PvdA, just like two new parties with great potential: the BoerBurgerBeweging (BBB) and New Social Contract (NSC) of Pieter Omtzigt.
The D66 directors present in Zwolle, three hundred from all over the country, do their best not to gloom about this. “Success in the elections depends on major television debates in the last week,” says Hilversum councilor and debate expert Roderik van Grieken. Susanne Schilderman, alderman in Utrecht, also says she is “positive”. “It is up to us to convey that optimism to voters in the coming weeks and months. We’re going to fly flyers!”
In his speech, Jetten briefly explained the topics he wants to start the campaign with. Climate policy is at the top of the list for the outgoing minister for Climate and Energy. That should be “as ambitious as it can be. That is our number one priority.” Remarkably enough, he mentions nuclear energy as one of the options – for D66 a break with the past.
His ranking also includes themes such as care, education, Europe and ‘a new balance in our economy’. In doing so, he does not take the word in the mouth that many other new party leaders have already bombed into a major campaign theme: social security. Jetten does say that he wants to include it in the campaign for “the working middle class” and “hard-working and innovative entrepreneurs”.
Typical D66 points
He does not mention other, once typical D66 points: democratic innovation, medical ethics and the promotion of the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. It was not yet a presentation of the election program; it will come in three weeks.
Read also: How Rob Jetten would like to pull D66 to the left.
Although Jetten has been walking around in The Hague for years – a Member of Parliament from 2017, a minister from 2021 – he sees himself as a representative of a new generation that, after thirteen years of Rutte, has to change politics: less polarizing, more substantive debate about differences of opinion, which will undermine the confidence of the citizen in politics must be regained. “This must become the political generation that takes people seriously, that puts ideas first.”
To set the right example, the new D66 leader was complimentary to parties that are not politically related: to Pieter Omtzigt (with his proposal for a constitutional court), to Henri Bontenbal’s CDA (“who does not join in the shouting” ). And even, jokingly, to the big rival in the recent Provincial Council elections, Caroline van der Plas of BBB. “She also wants to bridge differences by simply putting someone from every right-wing party on the electoral list.”
Less laudatory
Jetten was less enthusiastic about the VVD, coalition partner in the past two cabinets. He rejects the intention of party leader Dilan Yesşilgöz, unlike her predecessor Mark Rutte, to no longer exclude the PVV from participation in government. “Playing with fire,” Jetten called it.
In his review of other parties, Jetten emphatically did not mention one party: the new combination of PvdA and GroenLinks. Afterwards, he said in a short explanation that he is happy that there are “more green party leaders who are pulling on the same side of the rope”. But there are “of course also differences”. He had, he thought, subtly touched on that in his speech. For example, with his plea to stimulate effective and innovative climate policy in the business community. He also saw differences in income policy. Jetten: “Do you only want to support the bottom of the income groups or do you, like us, emphatically opt for the working people?”
The attitude towards GroenLinks-PvdA in the upcoming election campaign is a difficult dilemma for D66. The party led by party leader Frans Timmermans is a logical partner for cooperation in a future progressive cabinet, and a welcome change for the progressive liberals after the difficult coalitions with VVD, CDA and ChristenUnie. But no matter how much electoral success the two left-wing parties will be awarded by D66 members, that will almost automatically lead to the loss of their own voters – see the recent poll from I&O Research. GroenLinks-PvdA has 28 seats there and D66 has seven.