SUNDAY, 21
APRIL 2024 - 15:23
Timmermans denies calling for violence against
Wilders; PVV leader can't take criticism
Left-wing
political leader Frans Timmermans denied allegations on Sunday claiming he
called for violence against PVV leader Geert Wilders. "Wilders always does
this when he is criticized. Then he lashes out," said the former European
Commissioner and current GroenLinks-PvdA leader in a statement.
Wilders
said on Saturday evening that he would press charges against Timmermans, who
said in a speech this weekend, "We will stop at nothing to prevent Wilders
from coming to power in this country." Wilders claimed this meant that
violence was also an acceptable method.
In another
message written on X, Wilders called the Timmermans speech,
"life-threatening left-wing incitement." He also appealed to others
to report Timmermans to Dutch authorities.
"My
means are always parliamentary and nothing else. I reject any other
suggestion," Timmermans said. He previously said that constant rantings
from Wilders on X and its predecessor, Twitter, are akin to "permanent
Twitter incontinence."
During his
speech on Saturday, the GroenLinks-PvdA leader accused Wilders of being the
person primarily responsible for the fact that a Cabinet has not been formed
now five months after the November election. Wilders and the PVV have been
trying to negotiate a coalition agreement with the VVD, NSC and BBB. Timmermans
said that, because of Wilders, this has only "led to a lot of arguments
and zero solutions."
And all
this time, nothing is being done to address "the needs of society,"
Timmermans told members of both GroenLinks and PvdA during a joint conference.
He believes the attempt by the PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB will soon end without
result.
"I
have always said, the leader of the largest faction can take the initiative in
Cabinet formation. But there also comes a point at which he forfeits that
privilege. And that point is now getting closer. Those four cannot keep the
Netherlands on hold indefinitely. The only question is when will VVD and NSC
realize this? Or will they embark on a risky experiment with a man who has
chosen only to sow division?" Because, Timmermans believes, "if you
sow division for more than 20 years, you can never create unity."
Despite the
"permanent Twitter incontinence," Timmermans observed that Wilders
has not said a single word about the minimum wage, "not a word about
tenants or about the abolition of the health insurance deductible." He
said it should not be surprising that the PVV leader only identifies problems
and does not come up with solutions. "If you have applied a completely
impossible, unconstitutional and undignified solution to every problem for 20
years, you cannot suddenly come up with solutions and govern the country. That
is not possible."
Timmermans
said during the speech he wanted to do everything possible to prevent Wilders
from coming to power. He warned the VVD and NSC that his party will put up
"strong opposition" if the PVV leader is "hoisted into the
saddle" by them. Their policy will lead to "Russian roulette with the
interests of employees, pensioners and tenants" and also "with our
national security," said Timmermans, who dismissed Wilders as a
"self-proclaimed admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin."
After
Wilders struck back at Timmermans to allege a call to violence as part of the
left-wing leader's speech, two outgoing Cabinet members also spoke up for
Timmermans during television interviews. "This party only operates within
the boundaries of the rule of law. And Frans Timmermans certainly does,"
said Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren during an episode of WNL op Zondag.
Her D66
party colleague, Finance Minister Steven van Weyenberg, also said on Buitenhof
that it was like a "circus." He stated, "I don't think anyone
actually believes that he meant anything bad, other than that he will
politically oppose Wilders."
Last week,
Timmermans indicated in an interview with AD that he believes that the four
parties struggling to form a Cabinet should look at alternatives if they cannot
reach an agreement by June 1. GroenLinks-PvdA is the second largest political
faction in the Tweede Kamer with 25 seats. In principle, that party gets the
initiative if other attempts fail.
Because a
coalition without the VVD's 24 MPs would be virtually impossible, Timmermans
has carefully opened the door to the VVD, should they be ready to talk. During
the campaign, the two parties were often diametrically opposed to each other.
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