Dutch party leaders clash in TV debate as election nears
Senay Boztas
Dutch party leaders have clashed in a tetchy televised debate, as the Netherlands election campaign entered its final days.
The country’s six main party leaders confronted each other in Rotterdam on Monday night, as a poll suggested Frans Timmermans’ GreenLeft/Labour was neck and neck – on 27 seats of a total 150 – with the party that has led the past four governments, the People’s party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) under Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius.
The poll also showed a six-seat gain to 26 seats for Geert Wilders’ anti-Islam Party for Freedom, which has been campaigning on distrust in government and an immigration “stop”. Support for the centre-right backbencher Pieter Omtzigt and his New Social Contract dropped four seats to 21 – although after the poll was taken, Omtzigt said he would be a prime ministerial candidate, one uncertainty that was troubling voters.
During the debate, the six main party leaders, including Farmer-Citizen Movement’s Caroline van der Plas and liberal democratic D66 leader Rob Jetten, interrupted each other and failed to agree on any subjects except the housing crisis.
The ill-tempered spectacle came as the poll suggested that a previous survey last week – which showed a surge for the far-right Party for Freedom – may also have galvanised progressive votes for GreenLeft/Labour.
Read the full story here.
Key events
Jon Henley
Pieter Omtzigt: the Netherlands outsider whose politics is firmly in the centre
Usually in European elections the insurgent candidates come from the outer reaches of the political spectrum: the far left or, more often of late, the far right. This one comes solidly from the centre. He could hardly be less fringe if he tried.
Days after Pieter Omtzigt, a Dutch Christian Democrat MP for 18 years, announced in August he was founding a new party to “do politics differently”, it was topping the polls. Two days from the vote, it is vying for the lead in the parliamentary election.
The outcome of Wednesday’s ballot remains far from certain. But analysts say the meteoric rise of Omtzigt’s New Social Contract (NSC) reflects his personal reputation, the political space he occupies, his promise of democratic reform and, not least, the fragmented state of Dutch politics.
With many people still undecided and polls suggesting tactical voting may prove a decisive factor in the ballot, Omtzigt – who has ruled out entering a coalition with the anti-Islam Geert Wilders – may yet benefit from last-minute allegiance-switching aimed at heading off a possible far-right surge.
The 49-year-old is perhaps best known for his key role in toppling the government of Mark Rutte in 2021 over a child benefit scandal in which more than 20,000 families were wrongly accused of fraud, many on the basis of ethnicity.
Read the full story here.
Here are some photos from the Netherlands this week as the country prepares for Wednesday’s election.
How are the polls shifting in the Dutch election?
De Volkskrant has a graph showing seat distribution polling ahead of tomorrow’s election.
Dutch party leaders clash in TV debate as election nears
Senay Boztas
Dutch party leaders have clashed in a tetchy televised debate, as the Netherlands election campaign entered its final days.
The country’s six main party leaders confronted each other in Rotterdam on Monday night, as a poll suggested Frans Timmermans’ GreenLeft/Labour was neck and neck – on 27 seats of a total 150 – with the party that has led the past four governments, the People’s party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) under Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius.
The poll also showed a six-seat gain to 26 seats for Geert Wilders’ anti-Islam Party for Freedom, which has been campaigning on distrust in government and an immigration “stop”. Support for the centre-right backbencher Pieter Omtzigt and his New Social Contract dropped four seats to 21 – although after the poll was taken, Omtzigt said he would be a prime ministerial candidate, one uncertainty that was troubling voters.
During the debate, the six main party leaders, including Farmer-Citizen Movement’s Caroline van der Plas and liberal democratic D66 leader Rob Jetten, interrupted each other and failed to agree on any subjects except the housing crisis.
The ill-tempered spectacle came as the poll suggested that a previous survey last week – which showed a surge for the far-right Party for Freedom – may also have galvanised progressive votes for GreenLeft/Labour.
Read the full story here.
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