Five political parties began their election campaigns today. On this “Super Saturday”, there were two new party leaders for their supporters: Dylan Jesselgoz of the VVD and Henri Bontenbal of the CDA. The meetings are mainly aimed at boosting self-confidence on the way to November 22, when the Netherlands goes to the polls.

After 17 years of Rutte’s rule, there has been a changing of the guard at the VVD. The VVD wants to prevent the party from collapsing, as often happens when a prime minister leaves office. Yeseljoz presented a distinctly liberal story, but she also distanced herself somewhat from the policies of her predecessor.

“For too long we have been oblivious to what has gone wrong in government,” she said, referring to the benefits scandal. “We need to pay more attention to people’s daily concerns.” She believes that many “water settlements” have been made in the areas of asylum and migration, although she has not explained how this should be done.

But she praised Rutte, saying: “While the world was stormy, he was always there. The Netherlands owes you a lot.” This was followed by a standing ovation for the outgoing party leader.

At the CDA conference in Den Bosch, jackets reading “Hen wie? Henri!” were sold. The new party leader still has to work on his reputation. The party is still losing in the polls, but Bontenbal is hopeful of a good result: “We will surprise the Netherlands.”

According to him, the new story of the CDA is actually the old story, about a society where people take care of each other and where people treat each other decently. “We’re the party.” He admits that the CDA has begun to “go with the flow” of globalization and individualism too much in recent years.

The Socialist Party also has to deal with bad opinion polls. Party leader Liliane Marinissen is in danger of recording another consecutive election defeat. While the typical SP topic such as Social Security is one of the most important topics of this campaign.

Marinissen believes that this interest among other parties is hypocritical. “When I hear Yeselgoz talk about Social Security, it’s a bit like Sajak Swart Hand in hand, comrades she said, referring to the upcoming classic football match between Ajax and Feyenoord.

Marinissen asked: “Where have you been in recent years? When we were actually calling for raising the minimum wage and maximizing rents.” According to her, it is up to the Socialist Party to prevent the promises of those other parties from “becoming as empty as the promises of the so-called new administrative culture.”

The BBB presented its candidates at the exhibition held in Bathmen, Overijssel. Parliament Speaker Caroline van der Plas came under fire in the House of Representatives last week, because she and Peter Omtzgut presented a proposal to raise the minimum wage, without indicating exactly how it would be paid. I was met with laughter.

“Just laugh at us. Just laugh at our movement. We will laugh on November 22,” Van der Plas said today. She reiterated that she will not have her party’s election manifesto calculated by the Central Planning Office, as many other parties do.

The CPB mainly looks at the cost of proposals and not what they offer the community, which is van der Plas’s logic. Her campaign manager and No. 4 on the list, Henk Vermeer, added: “We’re going through all kinds of crises right now. And we got into that with great coverage. But coverage doesn’t help you if you’re in a crisis.”