Space is tight in political life in the Netherlands. In the country without a blocking border, 26 parties present lists. The election’s most important joker receives the award for fastest growth in the diverse party flora: Since being founded on 19 August this year, the New Social Contract party is set to become one of the country’s largest. When the votes are counted on Wednesday evening, party leader Pieter Omtzigt will play an absolutely decisive role in the negotiations to form a government, not least because he is keeping the option open to working with the vast majority. POPULAR: Pieter Omtzigt became popular as a politician who went against the grain. He could be decisive in the coalition discussions after the election in the Netherlands on Wednesday. Photo: AP The leader of New Social Contract is not as fresh as the party he founded. After many years in the Christian Democratic Party, he made a name for himself as a sort of harbinger of a social political scandal that began in 2014, but which still characterizes politics in the Netherlands. 26,000 parents were unjustly accused of defrauding themselves of cash benefits. Pieter Omtzigt was among the few politicians who took the matter seriously. For the then government, it was the beginning of the end. For Omtzigt, it was the start of a life as the country’s most popular politician. Omtzigt came across as outspoken and fearless. At a time when only a third of Dutch voters say they trust the country’s politicians, he appears as a kind of centrist rebel. He has taken the bait of other protest parties, such as the Peasant-Citizen movement, which only a few months ago seemed capable of revolutionizing the Dutch political landscape. Admittedly, Omtzigt has also been accused of being a somewhat woolly and vague rebel, with general slogans that are a lot about “common sense”. And an unclear line when it comes to partners. Omtzigt can cooperate both on the left and on the right, he has said. Whoever votes for him will see. On one point, however, he has been clear: He will not cooperate with Europe’s most ardent critic of Islam, Geert Wilders. CAN THEY COOPERATE? Geert Wilders and Dilan Yesilgöz may end up in a coalition in the Netherlands. Photo: AFP However, others want it. And the willingness to cooperate, which has previously been seen as too controversial, is probably increasing in line with Wilders’ rise in the opinion polls. In recent weeks, the distinctive right-wing populist and opponent of immigration has been doing better and better. He has also shown that he would like to be in power this time, by putting the most extreme anti-Islam parts of his policy on hold. One of those who has opened a dialogue with Wilders is a woman who came to the Netherlands as a Turkish Kurdish refugee when she was seven years old. The new Dilan Dilan Yesilgöz may quickly become the next prime minister of the Netherlands. In that case, she will also become the country’s first female prime minister. Despite her background as Minister of Justice in Mark Rutte’s outgoing government, she too is seen as something new and fresh by her supporters. She has been called “an empathetic pit bull” in the Dutch press, and thrives on the label. The critics would rather call her cynical. When news spoke to Turkish Onur Hökelekli earlier this week, he thought that it was a bit strange how Yesilgöz uses the immigration debate as the main issue. SOON IN THE NETHERLANDS: Turkish Onur Hökelekli is skeptical of how the immigration issue is used as an electoral tool. Photo: Simen Ekern – Dilan was born in the same city as me, Ankara. She came here as an asylum seeker after her father fled here. And then she has taken this anti-immigration position. Yes, I think it’s a bit paradoxical, Hökelekli told me. He himself can perhaps be described as a kind of model immigrant. Four and a half years ago, he came here as a student with a full scholarship, because he is talented. Then he got a job in one of the Netherlands’ largest banks. In half a year, he can apply to become a Dutch citizen, if Dilan Yesilgöz does not win the election and change the rules. Because of the housing shortage in the country, one of the election campaign’s really big themes, the rules for citizenship must be tightened, she claims. For the same reason, she wants fewer students from abroad. Hökelekli believes it is a simplification. – They always say that we must have fewer people here because of the housing crisis. I think it would be better to change the regulations so that more housing can be built instead. There is a trend in many European countries now, that whatever the problem, the solution must be fewer immigrants. Beinhard climate campaign Climate issues are also part of the Dutch election campaign, but hardly in the way another “newcomer” with years of experience would have wanted. Frans Timmermans has been a prominent figure in European politics in recent years. As the EU’s vice-president, he has had the main responsibility for the union’s ambitious policy for a green shift. Now he is running as prime ministerial candidate for a newly merged red-green electoral list. TAKING THE CLIMATE FIGHT: Frans Timmermans Photo: Reuters So far, the opinion polls have hardly been as good as Timmermanns had hoped when he resigned from the top EU job to return home. Climate is an important issue for many voters. But Timmermann’s efforts for a green EU transition also show the climate issue’s divisive potential. Angry farmers have blocked Dutch highways in protest at how the restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions are affecting agriculture and farm operations. Still others believe that strict environmental requirements are to blame for another major election campaign theme: the housing shortage in the country. PEASANT Uprising: Tractors in action along a motorway in the Netherlands in the summer of 2022 Photo: AFP The Netherlands has too few and too expensive houses and apartments, and the “housing crisis” is what most people answer when news has asked people in recent days which issue they think is most important . It is also a challenge that allows most parties to shift the blame to someone else. Those who prefer to talk about immigration believe that the many foreigners who come to the country are responsible for the housing shortage. The left points to a lack of political management of an overly liberal housing market. And those who think the climate policy is too strict believe that climate measures are to blame for the fact that not enough houses are built. Every vote counts The Netherlands has few houses, but many parties that will have to agree to solve problems when they end up in government. The latest opinion polls show several possible coalition alternatives. The four largest party groups get between 15 and 18% each, as it currently stands. This means that we can expect rather intricate coalition discussions regardless of the election outcome.
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“Empathetic pit bull” can become prime minister in the Netherlands after the election – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
