“First they built Wilders, then they built Verdonk, then Baudet and now Caroline van der Plas again,” Luyendijk further explains in his statement in The Friday Move. Then a new clown. And then after a year and a half it’s taken apart again, and then they build a new one.’
According to Luyendijk, much of the problem lies with Hague journalism, which has difficulty “presenting the major issues of our time in such a way as to see where the dilemmas and sacrifices lie”. “It’s much easier to tell a story about a person, who may or may not be popular.” He calls it horse racing journalism. “And because the major parties are collapsing, we regularly have someone who’s only allowed to appear if he acts like a clown.”
management crisis
Political journalist Sophie van Leeuwen doesn’t entirely agree with Luyendijk. “Caroline van der Plas is someone who speaks the language of the people,” she retorts. ‘There is no denying that there is a huge governance crisis. Rutte hasn’t solved the problem for twelve years, people don’t feel listened to. So you can call her a clown, but it’s a clear signal from the voter that something is wrong in the Netherlands. It’s not just the fault of the press in The Hague.’
Luyendijk also sees a particular problem that Van der Plas and the BBB are treated differently in the media than “other serious parties offering an alternative”. He cites the PS and the Party for the Animals as examples. “Doors open everywhere for Caroline van der Plas, until she’s no longer fun, and then you bring her down just as hard.”