It is now clear to everyone that Pieter Omtzigt is a very difficult man, but is he even suitable for formation? In Op1 he reacts very pissed off to new gossip.
The 20 seats of Pieter Omtzigt’s NSC party mean that he plays a crucial role in the formation. “This man is the key, he is the pivot,” explains journalist Thomas van Groningen On 1. “He must want something and it seems to be very complicated. We also hear that from parties in recent days, like: ‘It’s up to Omtzigt, difficult, difficult, difficult.’”
Crying fits
Telegraaf star journalist Wouter de Winther reveals in his podcast that Omtzigt behaved terribly during the formation discussions. “Very regular fits of crying, raising my voice, running away, leaving the room every time you are asked to take a position on a topic of volatility.”
And then? “Then Yesilgöz had to chase it again, then Plasterk had to chase it again, then Eddy van Hijum had to chase it again, who then came back with a red face because he was ashamed of the insane situation.”
Gossip
This is not incredible juice, according to Thomas. “I have to be honest, we also heard this story recently, that it is very difficult to negotiate with Omtzigt. I also understood that it was suggested within NSC that it might be possible to negotiate without Omtzigt. That someone else will do that.”
Omtzigt reacts very angry to these rumors. “I received a text from Omtzigt and he said through his spokesperson: ‘The talk and gossip about each other through the media is illustrative of the entire problem, I don’t participate in it.’ In other words: Omtzigt does not want to respond to the story.”
Serious story
Political reporter Sam Hagens sets Today Inside that it seems like a credible story. “Quite a serious story. I have also tried to check what is correct and people at the negotiating table confirm tonight that that is correct. That Pieter has been emotional too often, that he has had fits of crying.”
Who confirms that? “I can’t say who. They want to work it out, but the people at the table still say: ‘Pieter is not doing well.’ Why do they say that anonymously? They say, ‘We cannot facilitate this behavior. We can’t just circle around Pieter, walk outside with him, and then wait another hour for him.’”
Medical problem
Johan Derksen believes the gossip. “We can say that he is a somewhat unbalanced type. That’s for someone in his position… Those people have to be able to make important decisions and apparently you can’t leave that to Pieter. Pieter’s emotions… That is of course almost a medical problem.”
Colleague Wilfred Genee: “If it is confirmed so often and so much, then you can almost say that it is true, right?”
Sam: “What I find striking is that he doesn’t want to comment on it.”
We have to get rid of this, thinks Hélène Hendriks. “Yes, you can’t continue with that for months.”
Fragment
The fragment in Op1: