Six months of fumbling at Stadhouderskamer, the sweat chest in Binnenhof where the formation must take shape, and now Johan Remkes can try it on. Success is not guaranteed, as the six parties that should be considered able to form a government show little regret or shame over the poor performance thus far. No one should innocently wash their hands: they are all responsible for not having an entire wardrobe that should work.
It seemed as if two formations were working at the same time. VVD and CDA wanted the Rutte-3 to continue with the D66 and ChristenUnie. Preferably no third parties and if there is no other choice, then PvdA or GroenLinks. In the same room, the D66 formed a progressive dresser on another table with PvdA, GroenLinks, and VVD, which couldn’t be passed over as the biggest party. There is no Christian union and no CDA is preferred, unless it is numerically unavoidable. Mariette Hammer wandered between the tables, shaking her head and her hands in her hair: That wouldn’t work. In fact.
You thought negotiators would hide in a corner, shy. There will be every reason for that. The Six had closed the closet door without negotiating. Parties could have gone a long way in terms of content, the differences aren’t huge, but it wasn’t about the content but the numbers. The VVD had no appetite for the always difficult members of the PvdA, who, despite the meager nine seats, always asked for more, the fry – never enough. And how reliable is Jesse Claver, who shut the door twice four years ago? Now that his party was split in half, he suddenly wanted to.
The D66 does not want an old coalition that does not do justice to the new wind that must blow through The Hague that at least the D66 voters have chosen. No place for ChristenUnie, who halted all euthanasia plans for the Liberal Socialist Party for four years. And vice versa, Gert-Jan Segers does not feel desirable and not necessary for the majority. PvdA and GroenLinks are to blame for holding each other stubbornly while knowing that VVD and CDA would never accept it. Strangely enough, the two parties, who had recently withdrawn their confidence in Mark Root, wanted to rule with him afterwards. Sigrid Kaag may also be concerned after noticing “This is where we part our ways.” The relationship between VVD and D66 did not improve.
On social media, people are outraged by the irresponsible behavior of parties that matter in forming. But you don’t see that in the polls. VVD fires up 36 to 39 seats, the D66 drops a bit, PvdA and GroenLinks remain stable or gain something and CDA gets a boost, but that has nothing to do with the formation but all about Omtzigtgate and poor driving. There is no reason for either party to worry about the negative effects of the failed formation yet. nothing.
SP is the one who wrongly stays completely out of the picture. The Socialists had already withdrawn from formation at an early stage. Under no circumstances would Lilian Mariennesen want to be in a cabinet led by Rutte, when her party elsewhere in the country could run perfectly with a VVD party. She has the right not to participate. It can also ask other parties to hold accountable the slow progress in formation. But it’s a little strange when you speak contemptuously of “kissebis of who” while you are the first to give the pipe to Martin, not because of the content but because of the Rutte doll.
Returning to the parties still involved, led by the VVD party, which, as the largest party, finally seems to be taking over after months of hesitation in nominating its fellow party member Johann Remix as an informant. He has experience when it comes to solving administrative crises. In The Hague, as mayor, he washed the ears of unwilling councilors. In Limburg, he was able to resolve the impasse in the regional executive by personally approaching the people as new deputies.
It would be a boon to all parties if he put the government back on the right track.
