What would you do if you had a million euros? What is your biggest fear? Do you have an idea how we can stop the war between Israel and Gaza? These were not guarded questions asked by party leaders on the special election broadcast Youth News NOS It was displayed. A number of politicians also showed a different side.

Dylan Jesselgoose (VVD), Frans Timmermans (PvdA/GroenLinks), Geert Wilders (PVV), Rob Gitten (D66), Caroline van der Plas (BBB) ​​and Henri Bontenbal (CDA) were invited to the special broadcast. “Because they have a lot of seats or are expected to get a lot of seats,” he said. NSC leader Peter Omtzgut was noticeably absent: he was unable to attend.

Geert Wilders, the party leader who appears to be most popular with children, was the only one of the six who had previously attended an election broadcast. He called it “one of the best things about the campaign.” “You’re doing things you wouldn’t normally do, so I’m curious to see what it’s like today,” he said.

Watch the broadcast summary here:

All party leaders had to introduce themselves and once they did, they had to throw a multi-colored ball to the next person. Not entirely coincidentally, Henry Pontenball’s turn came first: he said he really enjoys making music (he plays piano, organ and a little saxophone).

Each party leader was given time to promote his or her party through a so-called “sales pitch,” but there was also time to answer personal questions. For example, we now know that if Pontenball had a million euros, he would invest his money in a sustainable energy company. He won’t work less because he enjoys working too much.

Timmermans was asked about his biggest fear. He didn’t have to think about it for long: “Something will happen to your children or grandchildren.” How does Yesilgoz deal with it when she makes a huge mistake? “I can laugh so hard at myself, maybe you’ll see that soon!”

Rob Gitten had to explain why he thinks it’s so important for everyone to be themselves. He said it was difficult for him to be himself in school because of his orientation. “I felt very ashamed of it and didn’t dare talk about it because I was afraid of being bullied.” That’s why it’s important to discuss it if you’re being harassed, Jetten stressed.

There was also time for a test, for which the party leaders had to form two teams. After a short hesitation, they became a team with Timmermans, Van der Plas and Gethin and a team with Bontenball, Wesselgoose and Wilders. When it later emerged that the first team was called the “Left Team”, Van der Plas protested, laughing: “Stop! Stop this show! Just call it the L Team.” “Just this once, Caroline, it’s possible,” Jetten told her.

The test tested how well all party leaders knew children. The question of what footballer Cristiano Ronaldo’s scream sounds like after scoring a goal has caused quite a stir. Timmermans was able to imitate the accompanying movement to some extent, but both teams misread the sound. Timmermans got a point for the movement, much to Yeselgoz’s dismay.

Finally, there was a final match, where both teams had to build a tower as quickly as possible. It was clear how much Yesilgoz wanted to win. It even seemed like she was deliberately obscuring the piece of the puzzle from the left team. This produced the result she wanted: the team on the right won. It remains to be seen whether this is a harbinger of the election results after November 22.