Pieter Omtzigt’s role in this cabinet formation is certainly not over yet, despite his remarkable departure from the formation table last week. This is evident from the final report published on Monday by informant Ronald Plasterk. The biggest news from that report is that NSC, Omtzigt’s party, is prepared to “provide toleration support” to a possible right-wing minority cabinet of PVV, VVD and BBB. Omtzigt’s departure had made the precise position of his party unclear, but according to this passage in Plasterk’s report, there still appear to be opportunities for the four right-wing parties to continue discussing cooperation. The House of Representatives will debate the report on Wednesday.
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Informer Plasterk advises the House of Representatives to discuss the formation of a right-wing cabinet in a next information round. Based on the weeks of conversations, Plasterk writes that it is “not excluded” and “very conceivable” that PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB could reach an agreement together. He cannot give “a complete answer” to that question because the discussions could not be formally completed after Omtzigt’s departure.
Constitution and rule of law
The report shows that the four parties largely reached agreement on the “common baseline” around the Constitution and democratic rule of law on Wednesday, January 10. Especially for NSC leader Omtzigt, this was an important condition to be able to continue discussions with Geert Wilders’ PVV. The four parties agreed on a detailed text of seven points, which states that their plans and activities will be “within the boundaries of the democratic constitutional state.” The statement also emphasizes that court decisions must be complied with, that all religions – including Islam – fall under freedom of religion and that initiative laws that conflict with fundamental rights or international treaties will be withdrawn by factions, as the PVV has already done in recent weeks. made a number of proposals.
The statement shows how far Wilders is willing to go to govern this time. The text that has now been drawn up is much more detailed than the short statement that VVD, CDA and PVV included in their tolerance agreement in 2010 about their differences of opinion regarding Islam. At that time, the parties only stated that they “differ of opinion about the nature and character of Islam” and that they would “accept” these mutual differences.
This time, Omtzigt’s hand can be read in the many promises that the four parties make to speak and act in a certain spirit. In some points it can be seen that the parties retain some freedom, for example when it states that “religious criticism is open to individuals and organizations”. This provides space for PVV leader Geert Wilders, who regularly shows himself to be very critical of Islam. The parties also note that it is important to be able to “have an open, factual and fierce debate.”
Wilders’ commitments were still insufficient for Omtzigt to enter a majority cabinet. “The rule of law distance” remains too great for this, NSC notes in the report. Plasterk does recommend that the four parties continue discussions together because, according to him, there must be a cabinet that “does justice to the election results, including the major shifts that have taken place.” In the report, in addition to support for a minority cabinet, NSC also suggests the options of a business cabinet or an extra-parliamentary cabinet, for which NSC would “in principle” not provide ministers.
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Internal compromise
Only the comments of the NSC faction about possible cabinet forms are included in the report. That faction could support a tolerance construction. The other three parties, Plasterk writes, have “taken note of this.” The idea: the shape of a cabinet should only be discussed in the next phase of the information.
This also seems to be the internal compromise for NSC. In the NSC faction, there have been objections to cooperation with the PVV from the start of the information, and there were also MPs who had less difficulty with this.
On the evening of the elections, when the results were announced, Omtzigt said it was up to “responsible politicians to ensure that a government is formed one way or another after elections.” In NSC, the dilemma was immediately felt: did they also want to take responsibility and “listen” to the voter if that meant working together with the PVV, something that Omtzigt had always ruled out during the campaign? It did not help that VVD leader Dilan Yesilgöz said the day after the elections that her party wanted to make a cabinet possible only from a tolerating role. That was precisely the way out that NSC also saw as a serious option.
Now the roles have been reversed. In recent weeks, voices have emerged in the VVD that the Liberals are also prepared to be in a cabinet. If only to keep NSC on board – without that party a right-wing majority in Parliament is not possible. But are the VVD supporters also waiting for this? Yesilgöz is confronted with a divided party, as was visible at the party congress last month. Some of her supporters find it incomprehensible that Yesilgöz had not immediately said that she wanted to form a cabinet with the big winner of the elections, the PVV. Another part warned against this. “Don’t do it,” said former House Speaker Frans Weisglas, for example. He could count on noticeably less applause.
Allusion from Omtzigt
Plasterk’s report offers opportunities for such a minority cabinet of PVV, VVD and BBB with tolerable support from NSC. In recent days, it has already been said in that party that this construction would be more bearable by the faction. On Monday afternoon, before Plasterk had presented his advice, Omtzigt already hinted at a toleration role for his party. “They have apparently consulted well over the past three or four days,” the NSC leader said about the talks between PVV, VVD and BBB in recent days, from which he had opted out. “I think it would be a good idea if they would see if they could form a minority government together.”
Who will tolerate whom? Informateur Plasterk warns in his report: “It is clear that not everyone can tolerate a cabinet. It is therefore important to investigate what forms of cooperation are possible.” That won’t happen under his leadership. Plasterk’s latest advice is: to appoint a “new” informant “with extensive political and administrative experience”. He has to.
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