BBB leader Caroline van der Plas ‘hopes’ that the four forming parties will ‘reach an agreement’ today. This makes her more positive than the informants were on Tuesday evening. Richard van Zwol then said that no decisions would be made before Ascension Day anyway.
But Caroline van der Plas stated that it is ‘her perception’ that PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB can reach an agreement on Wednesday. “We’ll see, we have a whole day.” And: “I am a positive person.” NSC leader Pieter Omtzigt did not seem to entirely share that positivism. “We are working hard and we will see where we get.”
PVV leader Geert Wilders did not want to make predictions. “One day it goes fast, the other day less. The weather is easier to predict than this.” He did say he hoped that ‘it should really be ready this week’. “Every day is a final day. We are in the final phase, we are all doing our best. Every day it becomes more exciting and we get closer to that finish line.” Everyone, Wilders stated, feels the increasing pressure.
The informants were also less positive on Tuesday evening than on Monday after a day of negotiations lasting almost eleven hours. Although they did state that the conversations went ‘well’. According to the duo, the exchange started on Monday: parties then let go of previous positions in exchange for other points that are more important to them. Making such compromises can hurt. “Logically there are some heated discussions,” said informant Elbert Dijkgraaf. Van der Plas says that it ‘sometimes goes crazy’. “But there is also a lot of laughter.”
Time is running out
Time is running out for the formation quartet, the informants also stated on Tuesday. Van Zwol and Dijkgraaf must present their final report on May 15. “It will be really exciting,” Dijkgraaf said on Tuesday morning. “We really don’t know whether it will work.”
The informateur duo seems to be extending that deadline. According to Dijkgraaf, the report must be sent to the House of Representatives no later than 11:59 PM on May 15. Minus Ascension Day and the weekend, this gives the formation quartet four days to reach an outline agreement.
Also listen to our podcast Politics Close. You can find all our podcasts at ad.nl/podcasts.
Unfortunately, we cannot show this social post, live blog or otherwise because it contains one or more social media elements. Accept the social media cookies to still show this content.
Watch all our videos about politics here:
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and never miss anything from the stars.
Yes, I want free unlimited access
Tags: Van der Plas positive formation informateurs Hope reach agreement today Politics
