Taking a Seat: Marc Vervuurt on his First Days in the Parliament

October 29, 2025. 9 pm. The results of a closer-than-ever election appear on Dutch television. The centrist liberals of D66 are ahead of the vote, the culmination of a remarkable comeback in the final days of the campaign. Led by a young front-runner, 38-year-old Rob Jetten, they embody a new era for Dutch and European politics. At the end of August, polls gave D66 around 10 seats in the Tweede Kamer. Today, they are the largest party in the Netherlands, with 26 seats, and have a leading position in coalition negotiations. Still, this victory is tempered by a repeated massive score for the far right and a fractured parliament.  

On August 29, 2025, our local coverage team interviewed Marc Vervuurt, who was, at the time, a city councillor in Venlo and a candidate on D66’s list (25th position). After he was elected a member of the Parliament, he agreed to answer our questions. He explains to us what this victory means for him and how he sees the future of his mission in the Tweede Kamer. 

Unpacking the Results 

Our team presented a detailed analysis of the election results in a previous article, which you can find on our website following this link. For context, the far-right party PVV won the previous elections in 2023, and several polling studies predicted a repeat victory for this camp. However, in the final results, they obtained 26 seats but with fewer votes than D66. There is a difference of 29,668 votes between D66 and PVV, according to the NL Times’ final count.  

Maastricht Diplomat (MD): How do you explain the rise of D66 in the last days of the campaign? What is the message that Dutch voters wanted to pass through this vote?

Marc Vervuurt (MV): The rise of D66 in the last days of the campaign was extraordinary. The constructive politics, combined with the positive message “het kan wél” (“It is possible”), really resonated with voters and drew them to our party. The country was desperate for another, positive kind of politics, one that was sorely missed in the last few years.

MD: PVV was given ahead and ended up with 26 seats, less than predicted. Do you think this reflects a long-term shift in Dutch politics, or just a temporary one?

MV: The far-right shift that was made in the Netherlands with the election in 2023 was partially corrected with the results of the last elections (2025). I am happy to see that the constructive parties in the Netherlands were able to grow, so that a solution to the problems of the people can be found in the centre. The centre refound its footing. 

MD: Can we say that these elections mark a “setback” for the far-right?

MV: You see that the far-right block is generally speaking as large as it was in the previous Parliament (±42), so I wouldn’t say this marks a real setback. 

As Marc Vervuurt explains, the representation of right-wing parties did not increase nor decrease in this new assembly. More conservative and far-right parties weigh in the political balance, when the PVV was the leader in the previous composition (having 37 seats). In the new 2025 Tweede Kamer, the right still has considerable influence. 

MD: D66’s electoral basis is strongest in urban, educated areas. How can the party connect more with rural communities and attract other spheres of the population?

MV: Rob Jetten, our D66 leader, based his campaign on moving away from the urban areas. His tour through the Netherlands visited places where D66 didn’t perform well in the previous election(s). He went to Sittard, Helmond, Almelo, etc. Instead of preaching our story, Rob led the way to an approach that was based on listening to people. 

MD: Was it illustrated in the election result? 

MV: This is the cornerstone of a story that can be transposed to any region in the Netherlands and has definitely yielded results. In many places in the Netherlands, far away from the urban areas, D66 grew, sometimes multiplying voter percentages 2-3 times.

Figure 1 - D66 increased its support base in all parts of the Netherlands compared to 2023.

One of our previous articles examined the election result maps, and they showed the rise of D66 across the country. Even if the party gets most of its support from urban areas, placing first in cities like Rotterdam, Eindhoven, Breda, Alkmaar, and second in Amsterdam and Maastricht, it increased its support base in less urban areas, mainly in the North of the country. If you want to try your hand at analyzing the results maps, visit NOS. 

Brussels Calling

Some media, like Politico, claim that the victory of D66 and the appointment of Rob Jetten were good news for the EU. The pro-European positioning of the party can facilitate coalitions with other countries, such as France and Germany, and revive a leadership force that has been absent in recent years. 

MD: In what ways do you think a D66 leadership will give power to the Netherlands? To what extent will European affairs be a priority of the future cabinet?

MV: It will help form a government that fundamentally believes in the EU and believes it can provide answers to solutions and doesn’t only offer problems. It also shows that Europe can find an answer to the populist right and might act as a symbol to the other member states that will have elections in the coming years. Centrist parties in Europe need to search each other out and learn from these success stories to find answers to the populist right.

MD: During our first interview, you said that the EU was the “Elephant in the room” of the campaign. How can the new government and the Parliament ensure that EU topics are not confined to Brussels but remain connected to Dutch citizens’ daily realities?

MV: It can be done by showing that the European Union can provide structural solutions to the large problems people face every day. I also think that Europe has done so in the past, but has a recurring problem of claiming ownership of these solutions: people don’t know that answers and solutions to problems that get resolved are based on the results the EU achieves.

What’s next?

MD: Which parties do you think D66 will work with in the coalition?

MV: We are looking towards all positive, constructive parties and will enter negotiations with everyone who adheres to this description. The only parties we categorically exclude from cooperation are the PVV and FvD, due to their ideas and proposals that directly contradict the constitution and fundamental human rights.

And this might take a long time… Current Prime Minister Dick Schoof told Politico after the elections that “Santa Claus will be here before a new government!” 

It seems to be moving forward as talks on the sensible topic of immigration started between D66 and the CDA, according to DutchNews. These two parties seem to have the lead, but they said they will consider other parties’ views, to have a solid coalition and respect between their members. 

MD: Which topics will you personally champion as a parliamentarian?

MV: I will personally stand up for the region, for Limburg as a province, and the specific challenges that the province faces. These are questions like water management, agricultural transition, border criminality, graying population and brain drain, and mobility issues. 

MD: Housing, mental health, and climate anxiety are key concerns for young people. How will you make sure that priorities for the youth are not neglected?

MV: We have a contingent of young members in our group (< 35 years) who are very much in contact with the issues that young people face in the modern age. This helps us as a party to keep in touch with the issues of our (and younger) generations. This definitely applies to housing issues, mental health, and climate change.

“I’m going to the Hague!” 

Imagine the change in your life when you are elected to the Parliament! In the past weeks, Marc Vervuurt had to leave the Limburg province and the city of Venlo to move to the Hague to assume his new position. He tells us here what this change implies in his life and what will be his motivation to work in politics at the national level. 

MD: What did you feel when you saw the first exit poll at 21:00 on October 29th?

MV: My first reaction was happiness, happiness that we were able to contend for the biggest party with the most seats. Secondly, I was astounded to see that the number of seats surpassed 25, which was my position on the list. 

MD: I remember when you told us during our first talk that you did not think of being elected. How have you been preparing to enter the Tweede Kamer on November 12th, and are you ready to move to The Hague?

MV: Preparation is a luxury I haven’t been able to afford in the past few weeks. Things went so quickly that I was unable to prepare myself adequately. While I’m getting settled more in the past few days, I still mostly live day by day, as my life and my routines have radically changed overnight.

MD: What do you expect from your work as a parliamentarian?

MV: I expect long days, irregular work hours, and hard, hard work. But I also foresee many new, exciting, and interesting people I will meet, and stories and experiences that will be shared with me. All of these will enrich my view and perspective on life, society, and government. I am very happy and aim to work very hard to bring the stories of everyone I meet to the Hague, to ensure that nobody goes unnoticed or is forgotten. 

MD: And a last question: Do you expect to still have time to answer silly questions from young journalists?

MV: Painful question regarding the time it took me to answer these questions! (He laughs) Though life will be very busy, and time management will mean loads of things will not go according to plan, I think entering and remaining in contact with individual citizens, and even small-scale journalists, is very important. It shows that members of parliament are approachable to anyone and also answer questions about politics, policies, and the ideas that they stand for.

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At the local coverage team, we were pleased that Marc took the time to answer our questions, and we would like to thank him for this! We think it is always important and valuable to understand the reality of a political mission from the inside, and to explain to have first-hand testimonies for our readers. 

This was the end of our Dutch elections series! We really enjoyed living this major political event with you, and we hope you enjoyed it as well through our articles! If you missed our past articles, you can find them here, there, and in the “Politics” section of our website!