Baudet regrets statements against Klaver

NOS News•today, 09:31

Forum for Democracy leader Baudet regrets his statements towards GroenLinks-PvdA MP Klaver. Chamber Chairman Bosma heard this from Baudet in a telephone conversation. Baudet threatened to “hit Klaver in the mouth” yesterday.

According to Bosma, Baudet has allowed himself to be carried away “in the fierceness of the debate”. The Speaker of the House added that Baudet will also make this public himself. Bosma is “very happy with this”.

The Speaker of the House had summoned Baudet for a meeting this morning, but the FvD leader did not come. “He stated that he could not be here and that he had another appointment,” the Speaker of the House said.

Baudet was invited by Bosma for an interview following the threat made by the FvD leader to Klaver after a parliamentary debate. That debate was about an initiative law from Forum for Democracy to hold a referendum on Dutch membership of the EU.

In the debate itself there were already violent clashes between Baudet on the one hand and Klaver and D66 MP Paternotte on the other. Klaver and Paternotte asked Baudet critical questions about his possible ties with Russia.

When the chairman had ended the debate, Baudet threatened to “kick Klaver in the mouth” if he asked for documents from the Forum for Democracy Foundation again. Baudet founded this foundation in 2014 to organize activities surrounding the Ukraine referendum.

In a letter to Baudet, Chamber President Bosma called Baudet’s threat “completely unacceptable”. According to him, boundaries and standards of decency have been exceeded and the reputation of Parliament and politics has also been damaged.