Oops, Geert Wilders’ negotiator accidentally shows part of the formation note

Geert Wilders’ PVV won the Dutch House of Representatives elections with a lead on November 22, 2023. Since then they have been trying to form a government in the Netherlands. But that doesn’t go very smoothly.

On Monday morning, all eyes were on PVV negotiator Gidi Markuszower. He walked into the formation discussions with a document under his arm and was captured by photographers. The document is titled ‘Main Line Agreement 2024-2028 of PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB’. And under the heading ‘Building blocks for breakthroughs’ it can be read that the four parties want to support a ‘cabinet that gives all people in the Netherlands stability and hope’: “Not everything can be solved at once, but the Netherlands is waiting for breakthroughs.”

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Markuszower entered formation meetings with the document, but it is unclear what the status of the document is. (Read more below the photo)

Markuszower’s memorandum mentions ‘concrete steps’ that the parties want to take. For example, from 2025 there must be tax relief for ‘middle-income workers’ and ‘people in need’. The parties are also committed to ‘the strictest admission regime and the most comprehensive package for control over migration ever’. These are things that will be music to the ears of the emperors of PVV, Geert Wilders’ party.

The memorandum does not mention specific amounts, only mentioning ‘PM billion’ tax relief. PM stands for ‘pro memorie’ and is often used in cost estimates and budgets if the exact amount is not yet known.

Not first time

It is not the first time in this or previous formations that documents have been captured on image in this way. For example, NSC leader Pieter Omtzigt showed a note at the end of last year stating that he and his party did not want to join a cabinet with PVV and BBB (BoerBurgerBeweging).

Omtzigt himself was the leading actor in 2021, during the formation of the Rutte IV cabinet, when scout Kajsa Ollongren showed a note that mentioned a ‘position elsewhere’ for Omtzigt, then a CDA MP. The recording of that note put a bomb under the formation and almost resulted in VVD Prime Minister Rutte being sent home. Afterwards, it took months to restore trust between the parties. (Read more below the photo)

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Such ‘lap notes’ have also caused political riots in our country. For example, during the formation of the government in 2007, former Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dehaene was photographed with a note as he left the royal palace. The note clearly stated “Quid N-VA?”

Elio Di Rupo (PS) also got caught in 2011 with such a note entitled ‘Message to the King’. It read: “My belief is that sooner or later all democratic parties will have to come around the table, given the reform that the north of the country wants to implement will determine the future of the country.” N-VA chairman Bart De Wever drove into the palace a few hours later with a ‘note’ on his lap with ‘curious mustard pot’ in clear letters. While he was reading the article about Di Rupo’s lap note on his iPad.