Yesterday, Frans Timmermans happened to cycle past the camera of Jaïr Ferwerda, who had gone to his hometown of Maastricht ‘on spec’. “This is a very strange encounter,” he said.
Jaïr Ferwerda traveled to Maastricht for his daily report in the talk show flop RTL Tonight. Why? To get Frans Timmermans’ first reaction since his resignation as political leader of GroenLinks-PvdA. In his item, the political reporter makes it appear as if he has not made an appointment, but is traveling there ‘on spec’.
‘Can I ask you something?’
When Frans comes cycling, he looks at Jaïr in surprise. The reporter: “Can I ask you something or not? How are you?”
Frans: “Yes, good.”
Jaïr: “I’ll see you on your bike in a jacket.”
Frans: “Yes, I have an appointment now. Normally I ride my racing bike, but I now have an appointment, so I will ride this bike.”
‘I won’t say anything’
Jaïr doesn’t get much out of Frans. “How do you look back on recent times?”
Frans: “Yes, I’m not going to say anything about that now, man. It’s a closed book for me.”
Jaïr then asks about his disappointing election result: “How sad is that?”
Frans: “Yes, the voter gives, the voter takes. Just like the sea. That’s what Jozias van Aartsen once said. (…) Yes, how does that feel? I have taken my responsibility.”
Back in politics?
Is this the end of the politician Timmermans? “Are you ever going to return to politics or is this really the end?” said Jaïr.
Frans: “Well, it seems very unlikely to me.”
Jaïr: “Not even if GroenLinks-PvdA joins the government? Maybe as Minister of Foreign Affairs?”
Frans: “Oh no, absolutely not. No, no, no. No way. No, no, absolutely not, no.”
Is he retiring? “No, I am definitely not retired yet. I am only 64, so I think I want to work for another seven years, but I don’t know yet what I will do.”
How about this?
RTL Tonight viewers react skeptically to X. “Strange meeting. How did Jaïr know that Frans would cycle past here?” says a certain Pieter. “It can hardly be otherwise than that Frans knew he would be waited for, but he seems to be surprised. Is he feigning surprise?”
He continues: “The simplest explanation is that Timmermans arranged this himself, because Jaïr kept insisting on an interview, perhaps, but he did not want to make it an official interview, partly because of the obligations that come with it, such as answering his questions in detail.”
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