Cheese sticks and hours of waiting at the lock: everything can prove important at this stage of the formation

First one escalator stopped working.

As a temporary solution, the direction of rotation of the other escalator was changed. For weeks, the stairs that normally lead downwards rolled upwards. In the hall of the formation area, near where negotiators from PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB are discussing a coalition agreement, it can be seen all the time how disoriented politicians, employees and journalists are unable to get used to the fact that the left and have been exchanged to the right of function.

Then the elevator stopped working. The words OUT OF ORDER appeared on the screen that was supposed to indicate the floors.

After days of beeping, becoming more frequent and higher, the other escalator also came to a standstill this Wednesday. Both left and right no longer work. The only way to get to the formation area in the House of Representatives, where negotiators from PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB are working on a coalition agreement, is by stairs.

Moving

Next Wednesday it will become clear whether informants Richard van Zwol and Elbert Dijkgraaf have managed to get the negotiators moving in eight weeks. They will present their final report no later than then. Whether there is a coalition agreement depends on what happens this week behind the secure doors on the first floor of the House of Representatives building.

Since Friday, the negotiators have received calculations of their plans from the Central Planning Bureau. The real negotiations only started on Monday. Three of the four parties, PVV, NSC and BBB, had previously not had their own election manifestos calculated by the planning office’s accountants. Now that the price tags are known, the exchange is also more concrete. And sharper.

The fact that there is really something to negotiate about is evident from the duration of the conversations this week: at least ten hours every day. But what exactly is being discussed? Nothing is leaking in this final phase of the formation, which indicates that the parties still have enough confidence that it can succeed.

For reporters posting in the corridor, the MPs walking in and out are an indication of what is on the agenda. Tony van Dijck (PVV): then it will be about finances. Harm Holman (NSC): then it will be about agriculture.

Smoke break

There isn’t much else to see. Yes, Caroline van der Plas from BBB and informant Elbert Dijkgraaf take a smoke break at regular intervals. That a lunch cart is driven in through a different entrance every day with sandwiches, cheese sticks, coffee and tea. That Pieter Omtzigt sometimes walks outside to catch up with (part of) his group – and then always returns. And also: that more and more journalists have started bringing books. Someone is reading Shenanigans by Godfried Bomans, another stories about cycling. A reporter reads a fantasy book, another reads the biography of CDA founder Jan de Koning.

You could say: as little movement as those escalators. But there is hardly a reporter who dares not be there. The risk that something does happen in this final phase of the formation is too great. The fact that Gidi Markuszower of the PVV had himself photographed with formation pieces on Monday is confirmation for those present that it is better to be there. It is then noticeable that journalists who previously worked elsewhere in the building decided to sit nearby, just to be on the safe side.

Lock sound

Every time there is a sound on the negotiators’ side, the same scene takes place. First the sound of the lock behind which the conversations take place. Reporters sit up. The security guards come out. Reporters’ doubts – will something happen? And then, when security guards stop and the lock remains open: a sprint, cameras and microphones on, photographers behind them, in no time a hedge of journalists. Sometimes it turns out to be for nothing. An MP who walks away, a political leader who doesn’t want to say anything.

You could say: a waste of time. But anyone who pays attention and puts all those apparently meaningless statements together will see the shift to the new normal in The Hague. The initial discomfort at the beginning about statements by Geert Wilders on X about minorities gave way to a shrug of the shoulders. While hesitation about forming a coalition with the radical right-wing PVV first prevailed among NSC leader Pieter Omtzigt, he has now also made it clear that he wants it to succeed. Very slowly, week by week, principles were exchanged for pragmatism.

This week the informants emphasize that “time is running out”. PVV faction leader Geert Wilders has expressed his hope in recent days that time pressure can help reach an agreement. “Everyone feels the pressure and that’s good. You have to feel pressure to achieve compromises and results.”

On Wednesday afternoon, another attempt was made to get at least one of the escalators moving again. That was not possible when this piece was published.

To share

Email the editor