Frans Timmermans and RTL Tonight are lying about the ‘spontaneous’ interview he gave to Jaïr Ferwerda while cycling somewhere in Maastricht, say the stars of Today Inside. “It’s a play!”
RTL Tonight reporter Jaïr Ferwerda claims that he went to Maastricht on Wednesday ‘on spec’ in the hope of speaking to Frans Timmermans, who lives there. We see Jaïr waiting at the traffic light of a cycle path somewhere in the city, while the departed leader of GroenLinks-PvdA arrives by bike ‘quite by chance’.
Quasi-surprised
Jaïr then very politely asks if he can ask the politician some questions, after which Frans reacts in quasi-surprise. Is this really a coincidence or is this a mistake? The politician is wearing a cap and sunglasses, so is definitely not easy to recognize.
In any case, it was without content, Johan Derksen notes Today Inside. “Well, it was worth driving all the way to Maastricht, wasn’t it? Some lyrics will come out!”, he notes sarcastically.
René van der Gijp: “Yes, you will learn something from that.”
Play
Wilfred Genee thinks this is a set-up. “What kind of play is this again? Although: Albert is going to report tonight on RTL Tonight that it really was a coincidence. Really!”
Table guest Renske Leijten: “Yes, but that alone: Maastricht is such a long way for reporters and certainly Jaïr to go ‘on spec’. Something has been agreed.”
Johan: “Yes, of course.”
Robbed at home
Renske envisions another scenario. “Or they robbed him at home and he said: ‘Guys, not here. Then I’ll come and cycle in a bit.’ Of course that is possible. But this is not a chance meeting.”
René: “No, that’s not possible.”
Johan: “No, but admit that, but don’t keep claiming that it’s a coincidence.”
‘It really is!’
According to Albert Verlinde it was really a coincidence. His source? Jair himself. “I asked Jaïr if it was a mistake. Well, no. He says: ‘No, not really, I just drove to Maastricht on spec to see if I could maybe get a quote from him. I didn’t post around his house, because I know where he lives.’”
He continues RTL Tonight: “Jaïr says: ‘But we didn’t do that. I just drove to that neighborhood by car and we drove over a bridge and suddenly we saw him cycling! Then we quickly drove over that bridge and they were waiting for him and then that interview happened.’”
Harassing
Jaïr deliberately approached the former politician cautiously, he says. “He says: ‘If Frans Timmermans had immediately said: ‘I don’t want this’, I wouldn’t have done it either, because it’s harassing someone on the street, but he did the interview.’”
Beau van Erven Dorens thinks it’s clever of Jaïr. “He was so happy about it too, because he arrived and said, ‘I spoke to him!’”
Albert: “Yes, that is also very special.”