The Dutch liberals of the VVD will not join the next government. “The loss of ten seats is too great for that,” party leader Dilan Yesilgöz said this morning. The party may want to tolerate a “cabinet of winners”, consisting of Geert Wilders’ PVV and Pieter Omtzigt’s NSC.
“The big winners are the PVV and NSC,” Yesilgöz said before the start of a meeting with Chamber President Vera Bergkamp. “After thirteen years, a different role suits us. The voter also said: VVD, skip a round. But we will make a center-right cabinet possible. We will support constructive proposals, so it is a form of tolerance.” She also hears from other parties that they would prefer to form a government without the VVD.
Yesilgöz points out that the party lost ten parliamentary seats in the elections. “That is almost a third, and a signal from the voter. But we are not going to turn our backs on all the people who voted for us.”
During the formation, the VVD wants to sit at the table to provide “frameworks” to the future government parties. She denies that this position would make a right-wing formation more difficult. “I sincerely don’t want to make anything more difficult, but rather help a constructive center-right cabinet move forward.”
Caroline Van der Plas of BoerBurgerBelangen, who traveled to The Hague with a tractor, told the NOS that she was “a bit bewildered” by Yesilgöz’s announcement. “I think it’s a bit premature that you decide that just like that before everyone has been spoken to.”
A scout will be appointed at the meeting with Speaker of the House Bergkamp. At the request of the PVV and with the consent of the other parties, it will investigate which coalitions are possible and what the first discussions with the faction leaders should be about.
Explained in 70 seconds: who is Dilan Yeşilgöz?
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