Et tu, Brute?

On March 15, 44 BC, Julius Caesar was stabbed by an angry group of senators, including Marcus Junius Brutus, Caesar's great friend and senator. Caesar initially resisted his attackers, but when he saw Brutus, he supposedly spoke the words "Et tu, Brute?" ("You too, Brutus?" or: "Even you, Brutus?") and resigned himself to his fate. People often cite this quotation when they feel they have been betrayed. It is also the quote that comes to my mind when I see what is happening in the Dutch political party called VVD. The VVD (the "Dutch People's Party for Freedom and Democracy") lost a lot of voters during last weeks election. A lot of the people voted for other right-wing parties. One of the main reasons for this is the fact there is an internal power struggle within the VVD between the leader of the party, Mark Rutte, and the number two, Rita Verdonk.

On May 31, 2006, Verdonk lost out to Mark Rutte in the 2006 VVD leadership election with 46% of the vote. So Rutte became leader of the VVD with Verdonk sort of as a 'running mate'. But clearly both can't stand each other. Verdonk developed a reputation for toughness and outspokenness, with her uncompromising immigration policies earning her the nickname IJzeren Rita (Iron Rita). But in my opinion she is just a populist politician with an impulsive style of governing and a peanut where her brains should be.

However, in last weeks elections Verdonk received a greater number of preference votes (620,555) than Mark Rutte (553,200) did. A first in Dutch politics: never before did someone that was second on the voters list receive more votes than the number 1. So clearly people seem to prefer her over Mark Rutte (who, I admit, has as much charisma as a beached whale). Probably the same kind of people that otherwise would for right-wing enfant terrible Geert Wilders (the man whose hair looks like a beaver exploded while sitting on his head)

And now a new crisis unfolds in the VVD party; Verdonk effectively drove a dagger in Rutte's back by announcing she still wants to lead the party (although she says this is not an issue at the moment because the party said Rutte is the current and only leader of the party) and thinks there should be a committee that "investigates" the unique situation that occured (meaning that she got more votes than Rutte).

Verdonk - in my opinion - stands for all that I hate in a politician. Populistic, riding on negative sentiments about foreigners (anti-Islam) and only thinking about her own benifit and not that of the party. If you look at her track-record in politics she is just one big disaster. And now it looks like she is going to succeed in tearing apart the VVD as well. The party has assembled for a crisis meeting at 19:30 tonight and I have a sneeky feeling that either Rutte or Verdonk is going to leave the party. In essence: "this town is too small for both us".

Et tu, Brute?