‘Tomorrow about 1400 members will come to Rotterdam. It will be a full house with a lot of tension between the region and the Hague elite,’ says van Leeuwen.
According to the reporter, things have been buzzing inside the VVD for a while. “There are many angry members of the VVD who are arriving at this party congress in large numbers.” After a speech by Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the controversial asylum law will be discussed. ‘There is already a motion ready from a large group of VVD members who are very dissatisfied with the applause machine for Mark Rutte in The Hague.
This group does not want the law. They think the VVD has been embraced by D66 and ChristenUnie. Members call to go even further, there should be a temporary suspension of asylum and increased border security to stop all refugees. It will be a very difficult story,’ underlines Van Leeuwen. ‘There is a lot of unrest. Will the motion win a majority? There is now a great deal of uncertainty about it.”