Dutch voters head back to the polling booths on Oct. 29, after the last government fell barely a year into office. The CDA is neck and neck for second in the polls alongside a joint Socialist-Greens ticket, at around 24 seats, behind Wilders’ far-right PVV at 31 seats.
That’s set to make the party one of the election’s big winners and Bontenbal a potential kingmaker in government negotiations.
Bontenbal’s political career began unexpectedly in 2021, when he became a temporary member of parliament, filling in for the illustrious former politician Pieter Omtzigt. In the November 2023 elections, CDA’s support crumbled to five seats shortly after Bontenbal had taken over — in part because of the success of Omtzigt’s new rival party. Back then, Bontenbal’s leadership of the center-right seemed doomed.
Fast forward two years and the mood in Eindhoven, a breeding ground for top companies including ASML and Philips, is bright.
The venue in the Netherlands’ “smartest square km” is packed for an event in honor of a local candidate. But Bontenbal — known to voters as Henri — is top of the ticket. Beer mats read “Henri, one more round?” On the tables are copies of his new book, It Really Can Be Different.
On stage in Eindhoven, Botenbal lists four priorities for the election, “which we all know are top of the list”: housing shortages, how to handle asylum seekers, the country’s nitrogen crisis and investments in the economy of the future.
