Fierce criticism at JA21 of Joost Eerdmans: "He must make way!"

At JA21, there has been a furious reaction to the news that the party's board is going to "nominate" (meaning appoint) Joost Eerdmans as the list leader for the 2023 House of Representatives elections. Online and offline, JA21'ers say Eerdmans has failed, that he cannot hold the party together, and that he is dragging JA21 in the wrong direction. They want to get rid of him.

When JA21 was founded, Annabel Nanninga and Joost Eerdmans promised everyone that it would be a very democratic party that was truly right-wing. Right-wing liberals and conservatives would get together and do it together. JA21 would become big and influential, and eventually the VVD would be forced to "rule the right;

Although JA21 did very well in the polls after the 2021 elections ´and, when it split off, took quite a few FVDs with it, for example in the European Parliament, things went downhill fast after that. The party could not deliver on its promises. And over time it became clear that there were fierce internal conflicts.

As a result, a good number of conservatives have turned their backs on the party. Nicki Pouw-Verweij has announced that she will not return to the Lower House for JA21 (but emphatically keeps options open for joining another party). Derk Jan Eppink has said the same thing. That's two of the three MPs who no longer want to join Eerdmans. Then there is Rob Roos in the European Parliament who has been on the rocker for much longer and is hated by Eerdmans as well as Nanninga because he is a) conservative and b) very critical of corona vaccinations.

"Eerdmans must make way" 

Now that Joost Eerdmans has announced in The Telegraph (always willing to help JA21 out a bit, that newspaper) that he will again be the list leader for JA21 in the November 22 elections, JA21 members and staff are reacting extremely negatively.

Ted Dinklo articulates the position of these critical party members very clearly when he writes: "A politician who leads a group where the best people are parting ways, a party that is disorganized and polls that are getting worse and worse just has to give way."

He is not the only one with this negative sound about Eerdmans. At The Daily Standard we have been hearing for some time that things are unsettled at JA21. The rest of the media totally ignored that until Nicki Pouw-Verweij thus announced her departure and the chaos could no longer remain hidden.

But things remain very unsettled at the party. In circles around the group and in the rest of the party, it is said to The Daily Standard that confidence in Eerdmans has fallen to zero but that Eerdmans "turns a blind eye to it" and continues at all costs. Yes, even if it means dragging his party into his fall. Organizationally nothing is right, the party is falling apart in every possible way, and now Nanninga (with whom Eerdmans also has a fight, by the way) has to be dragged in to save what is left to save.

(Article continues below this call) At The DDS, we understand that JA21 is a fop party first class. Unlike JA21, we do stand for conservative values, principles, and and beliefs. But this unfortunately means we need your help. Because if we want to expose JA21 we can only do so with your support. So donate to DDS! Support us, via BackMe, and help us tell the truth about this party that is on the verge of collapse behind the scenes.

And the most striking thing is that Eerdmans' strategy for the elections is once again to cry that the VVD is "not right-wing" enough and demand that that party go "over right" after the elections. That's JA21's entire campaign in a nutshell and voters should then be impressed (again) by that.

Of course, for true conservatives, this is a fine development. JA21 has actually degenerated into a second VVD. With only Eerdmans and Nanninga left, it is emphatically becoming a liberal party, although one that claims to be "right-wing liberal" (which content is always abandoned when compromises have to be made in exchange for power).