‘A great deal depends on the election debate to be held at EUR’

Will this debate in the Aula auditorium be spectacular? Daphne Lodder of the EFR study society thinks it will. 18 March is the date on which eight politicians, invited by EFR and the EenVandaag TV show, will face off in a debate that will be televised live, just two days before the elections for the provincial parliaments that will be held on 20 March. The debate will feature the political leaders of the four parties making up the current government, as well as the leaders of the four main opposition parties.

EenVandaag will transform the auditorium into a TV studio, which will host a debate that will be shown live on NPO1. The debaters will be the political leaders of the current government parties, Klaas Dijkhoff (VVD), Rob Jetten (D66), Sybrand Buma (CDA) and Gert Jan Segers (ChristenUnie), as well as the political leaders of the four main opposition parties, Geert Wilders (PVV), Jesse Klaver (GroenLinks), Lilian Marijnissen (SP) and Lodewijk Asscher (PvdA).

Sustainability

The debate will be presented by EenVandaag anchorwoman Suzanne Bosman. Several topical issues will be raised, including sustainability, pensions and the nature of our society. After the debate, the students attending the debate will be given the opportunity to ask the politicians questions. This Q&A will be followed by a drinks session. “The drinks sessions is mostly to make sure everyone is having a good time, but we have invited the political leaders to attend it,” says Daphne Lodder of EFR. “So maybe you’ll have the opportunity to talk to them there, too. The only one who will definitely not be attending the drinks session is Wilders, for security reasons.”

EFR, the study society of the Erasmus School of Economics, has organised political debates together with EenVandaag for years. The most memorable debate they hosted together was the one involving controversial right-wing politician Pim Fortuyn in 2002, in which GroenLinks leader Paul Rosenmöller launched a verbal assault on him. Lodder expects the debate on 18 March to be a firecracker, as well. “The main question to be answered in these elections is whether the coalition government will retain its majority in the Upper House. In other words, a great deal depends on these elections, and I think many people here will be interested in the debate.”

Information
Venue: Aula auditorium, Erasmus Building
Date: 18 March
Time: 17.00-20.00
Tickets available from: Monday, 4 March, 11.00
Entry ticket price: €12.50
For more information, see https://www.efr.nl/events/overview/product/267/313 (the debate will be in Dutch)