Led by Jeroen Pauw, the political leaders discussed important topics such as migration, housing and nitrogen. Director Roderik van Grieken of the Netherlands Debate Institute saw how politicians walked in straight leg, buoyed by the applause of their party mates. The difficulty with such a debate is that the audience is encouraged to clap. Before you know it, every time your husband or wife says half a sentence, you’ll be applauded. This is obviously very distracting.’
Van Grieken also noted that Rutte again presented himself as the great leader when he said that the Netherlands cannot handle the large number of asylum seekers. ‘If anyone can say it believably and full of fire and passion, it’s Rutte. But looking at the content, he’s a little crazy. He just takes as an example of leadership that he says we shouldn’t do something. In terms of form, he knows how to say it and he gets away with it. But if I were him, I would have preferred to occupy the leadership at a different time.’
According to Van Grieken, Kuiken responded well to the prime minister’s arguments by calling him a ‘campaign prime minister’, ‘who only goes abroad when it suits you (Rutte, ed)’. Van Grieken: ‘I thought that term was very cleverly chosen, because it’s a word that has stuck in my mind. The clever thing about Rutte is that he immediately bursts in saying that Kuiken deviates from the question. With this he tries to tone it down a bit ».
The debate expert also welcomed the way Klaver held Rutte accountable for various crises, including the housing crisis. ‘Incidentally, Klaver has done this a number of times, he’s managed to create such an anecdote on various subjects. Every time there are circumstances that make something fail. I thought he had managed to exploit it skillfully.’
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Where Rutte was able to defend himself well against his opponents’ accusations, Van Grieken saw how Schippers had a harder time with this. When he was asked by Pauw about the 2030 nitrogen deadline, she called it “whining for years.” Not convenient, says Van Grieken: ‘For many people, it’s an essential question. Starting with “complaining about the years” is very weak then, you noticed that from the reaction in the room. It is better to simply say: yes, we are facing 2030, and then fade it away. You can tell from her that she has yet to make progress in these kinds of debates.’
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