Mona Keijzer is last minute canceled by Today Inside and her party BBB is absolutely not happy with that, says TV critic Victor Vlam. “She said no to 20 other things.”
A politician at the table at Today Inside does not exactly guarantee a substantively strong broadcast. For example, the men seriously disappointed their supporters with the broadcast in which Frans Timmermans was a guest. PVV leader Geert Wilders did provide a much-discussed broadcast. In fact, he set a true season record.
Mona canceled
One person who should not benefit from VI’s high viewing figures is Mona Keijzer. The BBB leader was supposed to be at the table last Wednesday, but she is last minute cancelled. Ultimately, Thomas van Groningen sat next to substitute Gijp Wierd Duk. “Yes, it is indeed true that she would be sitting there,” says TV critic Victor Vlam in the podcast Victor Indicates TV.
He continues: “I understand from someone at BBB that they have been canceled by the editors of Today Inside and they are absolutely not happy about that. They are angry about that. The exact word my contact person used was ‘pislink’, because that is really very disappointing for a political party and certainly for BBB.”
Potential voters
Why choose BBB? “Because the viewership of Today Inside really overlaps with potential voters of BBB. So this is a wonderful showcase to put yourself in. If that does not happen, it will be disappointing for that reason, but if something like this happens a few days in advance, then it is also very difficult to find other things for Mona Keijzer.”
At the same time, she could also have grabbed another PR moment, Victor explains. “If you say yes to Today Inside, you probably said no to ten or twenty other things that you could have done at that moment. The question is whether you can get something in return at the last minute that is really useful.”
Top six
Why wasn’t Mona welcome? “What they said at BBB is that the stated reason for Today Inside was that they only want the top six party leaders to visit there because too many party leaders do not benefit from their broadcasts. Wilfred made a small allusion to this in Wednesday’s broadcast, but this is the background.”
He concludes: “Ultimately she was allowed to join Nieuws van de Dag, so that’s where she sat. Of course, she would have much preferred to be at Today Inside.”