What started as a seemingly quiet live broadcast by the D66 party on their official YouTube channel, turned within seconds into one of the most explosive and emotional political moments in recent Dutch history. Prime Minister Rob Jetten, normally the embodiment of calm, diplomacy and reasonableness, completely lost his self-control in front of hundreds of thousands of viewers. With a bright red face, shaking voice and clenched fists, he addressed the camera directly and attacked PVV leader Geert Wilders head-on, after he had publicly called for a boycott of “LGBT and D66” earlier in the day.
Jetten, who had already been under heavy pressure in recent months due to persistent criticism of his climate policy, immigration measures and economic challenges, seemed to loosen all the brakes.
He hit the pulpit with the palm of his hand and almost shouted: “Do you know how hard we had to fight for equality? How many generations have shed blood, sweat and tears? How many people have given their lives, how many families have been torn apart, before we were finally recognized as normal people with the same rights as everyone else? And then along comes an old man from a small, marginal party who discriminates day in and day out on the basis of sexual orientation – he has no, no right whatsoever to discriminate against us in the free, open and tolerant Netherlands that I lead as Prime Minister!”
The studio fell into an icy silence. The party members present, the technical crew, the presenters – everyone seemed frozen. Even the moderator, who normally intervenes quickly in heated discussions, was unable to say a word. The phrase “no right whatsoever” hung like an echo in the room, as the camera rested on the Prime Minister’s trembling face for seconds. The broadcast was abruptly interrupted for a commercial break, but the damage had already been done. Within minutes, social media was flooded with clips of the outburst.
Hashtags such as #JettenBarstUit, #WildersBoycott and #PremierWoede dominated all trending topics in the Netherlands, Belgium and even Germany within the hour.
But the real drama only started after the broadcast. Less than three minutes after the credits rolled across the screen, a tweet from Geert Wilders appeared that split the entire nation in two:
“Prime Minister shouts, but the Netherlands is not silent. LGBT is not a race – boycott remains.”
Ten words. Ten short, razor-sharp words that hit like an atomic bomb. Within the first hour, the tweet amassed more than 1.4 million likes, 380,000 retweets and tens of thousands of comments. For Wilders’ supporters it was a masterful, merciless riposte: short, powerful, without excuses and completely in line with his image as a fearless representative of the people. For critics, it was the ultimate proof of hate mongering, polarization and contempt for a vulnerable minority.
The reactions followed each other in rapid succession. COC Netherlands called the tweet “an outright declaration of war on the LGBTI community and a low point for Dutch democracy.” GroenLinks-PvdA leader Frans Timmermans immediately demanded an emergency debate in the House of Representatives: “This is no longer about political debate. This is personal humiliation, a threat and a direct attack on the dignity of tens of thousands of Dutch people.” VVD faction leader Dilan YeĹźilgöz tried to de-escalate by calling both sides “below standard,” but her own party members seemed deeply divided.
Public opinion split like never before. An emergency poll by Maurice de Hond, taken immediately after the tweet, showed that support for Wilders among men over 35 and in the provinces had risen by 5 percentage points within 24 hours. At the same time, anger and solidarity among young people (18-34 years), city dwellers and progressive voters in the Randstad grew explosively. An online petition to prosecute Wilders for incitement to hatred collected more than 120,000 signatures in less than eight hours.
Political analysts unanimously speak of a turning point in Dutch politics. “This is no longer an ordinary scandal,” wrote Tom-Jan Meeus in the NRC. “This is an existential clash between two completely different visions of what the Netherlands should be: the inclusive, progressive, rainbow flag Netherlands of Jetten versus the conservative, traditional, ‘Netherlands first’ Netherlands of Wilders. The voter is faced with a fundamental choice, and that choice is now being made with blood, sweat and tears.”
The timing could hardly be more dramatic for the Jetten cabinet. With the European elections approaching, continuing tensions around asylum, housing shortages, energy prices and inflation, and a growing sense of dissatisfaction among the middle class, this clash has brought confidence in the government to an all-time low. According to insiders, there is panic within D66: “Jetten has been lured into a trap. Wilders wanted exactly this – an emotional outburst from the prime minister that makes him vulnerable and authoritarian at the same time.”
In the meantime, Wilders’ tweet continues to spread like wildfire. Memes with the ten words on photos of Jetten with a red head, Wilders with a calm smile and rainbow flags are flooding TikTok, Instagram and Polarization has reached a new low.
As night falls over The Hague, the question remains: who actually won? Jetten has thrown his heart on the table and thus won the unconditional support of progressive Netherlands. Wilders has proven in ten words that he is still the absolute master at playing on emotions, polarization and public opinion.
One thing is clear: the Netherlands no longer talks about anything else. The battle between these two visions of the country’s future has begun – and it is far from over
