Pieter Omtzigt will participate in the elections of 22 November for the House of Representatives with his own party New Social Contract. This turns the political playing field upside down.
Omtzigt announced his decision in an interview with The Twentsche Courant Tubantia . “We have been preparing for a while,” he says in the newspaper. The party was founded on Saturday. The program is already complete, the list of candidates is not yet.
Omtzigt’s decision changes the campaign. In a poll, Omtzigt was awarded 46 seats if he participated. He calls this in the newspaper “unrealistic and not responsible”. He also says he does not want to become prime minister and to remain in the Chamber if he is elected.
Book CDA is closed
Omtzigt was a member of parliament for a long time before the CDA, but left the party two years ago after a raging conflict. The CDA recently tried in vain to restore the ties, but Omtzigt then announced that “the book with the CDA is closed”.
The 49-year-old Omtzigt built up a reputation as a tenacious Member of Parliament. Together with Renske Leijten of the SP, Omtzigt played a leading role in exposing the benefits scandal.