As the Dutch prepare to elect their representatives to the House of Representatives on Wednesday, six party leaders faced off in a final televised debate at the Ahoy in Rotterdam. The leaders from the VVD, GL-PvdA, PVV, NSC, D66 and BBB were given one last chance to convince voters on Monday evening.
The themes of migration, climate change, and social security were discussed during the debate. While it was less heated than last week’s SBS6 debate, intense discussions still took place. The climate debate once again highlighted how differing views lie between Timmermans and Jetten: Timmermans wants the Netherlands to increase its ambitions for climate change, while others fear the costs of a greener economy.
Wilders (PVV) strongly opposed arguments from the left during the debate. He told Timmermans: “You speak seven languages but not the language of the people. And the people just want to be able to pay for their groceries. But you are spending a lot of money while there are bigger problems than climate change in coming years.”
Similar contradictions were seen in the migration debate as well. Yesilgöz, Wilders, Omtzigt and Van der Plas all advocated for a stricter immigration policy while Jetten emphasized that Netherlands must remain hospitable. Yet despite this consensus among party leaders on housing construction after elections seem to be less made during Wednesday’s election day voting process.