Umtsigt: “If you are surprised by a party whose members think differently, you should create a one-person party or a North Korean communist party. I don’t think either of those alternatives is desirable.”
This division was audible in the halls of the meeting in Zwolle, but not to journalists in the room where members were spread out at seventeen tables and discussed with Umtsigt and other representatives of the National Security Council. The press was not allowed to roam there, only behind a rope to watch the conversations.
2000 emails
It is known that last week the party received about 2,000 emails from members, half of whom believe it is right for the National Security Council to stop negotiating, and the other half do not. In addition, some members of the National Security Council, such as some factions, have difficulty cooperating with the Freedom Party and others do not cooperate at all.
Umtzigt does not know whether he will succeed in uniting all members and voters again in the next formation stage. Previous polls showed that voters were as divided as members. “That's the constant challenge of a politician. It's the constant challenge of standing up for your ideals. And we're constantly inferring that. We started with the rule of law and we'll continue to stand for that.”
The Council of Ministers outside Parliament
He then said that the leader of the National Security Council party favored forming an expanded government outside parliament “where we do not present any ministers in principle.” In his view, such a government could also consist of more than four parties, and ministers from political movements other than those four. The party wants “a loose connection between the government and parliament.” Parliaments can never do the things a Parliament should do.
