It’s almost time: Mark Rutte is leaving tonight in his car for Today Inside, the most successful talk show in the Netherlands with a huge conservative base. “He takes three seats there.”
Mark Rutte has been continuously filleted in Today Inside in recent weeks, especially by Johan Derksen. He thinks that the Prime Minister should resign his position. A pretty spicy opinion, but Johan is also known to be quite tame when his direct object suddenly sits next to him at the table.
Four against one
It seems that the prime minister is going to score hard here, says RTL Boulevard star Luuk Ikink. “Then there is Genee, who must be quite critical. Gijp then laughs along, but also has the ball on top. Merel Ek is probably there as a political reporter and she is also critical (Merel is not welcome because of Rutte’s demands, ed.).”
He continues in the BLVD Podcast: “And Johan Derksen has to be critical, because he has shouted loudly that he has to leave. Then it’s four against one. Then you can only win. Then you can’t lose.”
Soft egg
Rob Goossens fears that Rutte will pack the men. “There is perhaps an even more disastrous scenario, because Johan Derksen can be quite a soft egg, especially if there are people sitting next to him. Then he has been very critical, but suddenly he becomes very mild. For example, if you saw how he turned like a leaf on a tree with Johnny de Mol.”
He continues: “Initially, Johnny de Mol had to stop his program immediately and then there was nothing left of it at all and the same Johan Derksen started pretending that Angela de Jong had said that Johnny de Mol had to leave the channel, while he just yourself.”
Smart approach
Luuk agrees that Johan is easily influenced. “Yes, then he just received new input from people who he thinks: that could also be true.”
Then Rob again: “Exactly. And Mark Rutte is of course never going to say to Johan Derksen: ‘You have to find this’, but I bet he can just handle it so smartly that Johan Derksen says at the end of the broadcast: ‘I still don’t find everything you have well done, but you’re a nice guy.’”
Three seats
If he manages to wind Johan around his finger in this way, it will still have an influence on VI’s supporters, explains Rob. “And hoppatee, then Rutte has three more seats.”
Why? “Because Johan Derksen seems so difficult to convince, it is all the more convincing for people who might vote for the VVD if he suddenly turns over at the end. That would be even more disastrous.”
Today Inside, with Rutte as table guest and Job Knoester as bar guest, can be seen on SBS 6 at 9.30 pm.