After the upcoming elections, the VVD can simply hold coalition talks with GroenLinks. A motion to prevent this in due course has been voted down by the general meeting of members the election manifesto.
The submitters of the motion believe that GroenLinks is not a suitable government partner, because Kauthar Bouchallikht is on that party’s list. This candidate member of parliament was vice-president of the Islamic youth organization Femyso, die associated with the Muslim Brotherhood.
Rutte voting advice
This week she apologized because a photo had surfaced showing her taking part in a demonstration showing flags with swastikas. “There is a lot of controversy about this lady,” said one of the petitioners.
Prior to the vote, Rutte said that it is not wise to exclude GroenLinks in advance. “I understand the concerns,” he said via video link. “But exclusion now does not fit with the crisis in which the Netherlands is experiencing and what is expected of the VVD.” More than three quarters of the VVD members voted against the proposal.
Downer for the top
The supporters also see little in the proposal to introduce a ‘preferendum’, in which people can express themselves beforehand about a bill. With 57 percent, a motion was passed to remove the passage about this from the program.
That is a damper for the party leadership who had made a case for this plan. Party chair Christianne van der Wal tried to maintain the proposal by replacing the word preferendum for citizen consultation, but to no avail.
Dissatisfaction with the procedure
Recently, there have been almost a thousand change proposals submitted about the draft election manifesto of the VVD. This has already led to party chairman Klaas Dijkhoff, the most important writer of the election program, rewriting the so-called ‘jurisprudence paragraph’.
The meeting is still underway, but dissatisfaction with the procedure can already be heard behind the scenes. VVD watcher Wilma Borgman hears complaints from VVD members who think that the chairman mainly gives the floor to members who support the line of the party leadership.
The meeting is scheduled to last until 4 p.m., but the question is whether everything has been dealt with by then. About 600 VVD members are logged in who can vote.
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