In order to be able to govern in the province of Drenthe, VVD, CDA and PvdA want to let go of the national party line on nitrogen. It is the only way to join BBB, which has 17 seats in the Drenthe Parliament, because the nitrogen policy is a breaking point for BBB. According to scout Astrid Nienhuis (mayor of Heemstede), a coalition of BBB, VVD, CDA and PvdA is the obvious choice.
The BBB’s views on the nitrogen dossier are at odds with the national line of the three proposed Drenthe coalition partners. The forced buy-out of farmers is a bridge too far, according to the BBB in Drenthe. ‘Bringing forward the deadline for the nitrogen targets to 2030 is a no-go for us,’ said Gert-Jan Schuinder of BBB Drenthe, on Wednesday afternoon during the presentation of the scout’s report.
National bond
VVD and CDA are nationally bound by a coalition agreement in which the deadline of 2030 has been agreed. The PvdA supports government policy on this point. The national line is not sacred for Yvonne Turenhout, leader of the PvdA. ‘If there are obstructive deadlines and the forced purchase raises barriers to finding solutions, then we are prepared to discuss it.’
At the end of March, Willemien Meeuwissen, leader of the VVD, already cracked down on her own party during the interpretation debate. ‘In the run-up to the elections, we did our best to adjust our national party members, to shake them up and to sound the alarm.’
Left collaboration
In Drenthe, the PvdA also deviates from the national left-wing cooperation with GroenLinks and opts for a place in the Provincial Executive without GroenLinks. The views of both parties differ in Drenthe in areas such as wind turbines and housing.
On Friday, the four parties will discuss the assignment for the formateur. ‘We want to take the time to go through this process carefully,’ says Schuinder.
