D66 party leader Sigrid Kaag warned in Arnhem at the kick-off of next month’s campaign for elections for the Provincial Council against a strong conservative bloc in the Senate. If that happens, she says, there is a threat of stagnation.
Kaag aims her arrows at JA21, BBB, PVV and FVD. Those populist right-wing parties are not prepared to make choices, she says. ‘The problems are getting bigger and solutions are getting further out of sight’ when these parties come to power.
‘Mega stable of Europe’
Members of the Provincial Council elect the members of the Senate in May. The threat of a large conservative bloc in the senate is urgent and real. They will not hesitate to put our country on the handbrake. That’s what these elections are all about’, says Kaag.
According to her, problems are not addressed if such a right-wing bloc wins many seats. That will not improve nature, the construction of new homes will slow down, nitrogen measures will not be taken and then ‘the Netherlands will remain the mega stable of Europe’.
D66 will not sit in provincial councils that opt ​​for standstill and adjustment, she repeated. Kaag also stated that he hopes that VVD and CDA will not cooperate in the provinces with PVV and FVD. ‘I trust that the VVD and CDA have learned from the past.’
BBB
D66 excludes cooperation with PVV or FVD. That does not apply to BBB and JA21, but Kaag does not see it happening soon. ‘We don’t think it’s very plausible if you look at their election efforts, their statements and their voting behaviour, but they are in a completely different category than PVV and FVD.’
Paul van Meenen, the party leader in the elections for the Senate, sees room at BBB. ‘There are sharp substantive differences, especially when it comes to nitrogen. But let’s be clear: a large BBB is of no use to us. But if they get there, then I do see opportunities to at least seek cooperation in other areas.’
