Thorbecke Prize: honouring political eloquence
In the media image: Charly Alvarez on Unsplash
In late-night talk show Pauw & De Wit, Wim Voermans, Professor of Constitutional Law and chairman of the Thorbecke Association, speaks of the importance of the Thorbecke Prize as a symbol of political eloquence.
The Thorbecke Prize honours the legacy of the founder of the Dutch parliamentary system, Johan Rudolph Thorbecke. The aim of the Thorbecke Association is to preserve and promote parliamentary democracy. 'Language matters' in the political debate, says Voermans. The prize is not about popular slogans, but about the art of political, public debate. The MPs are assessed on three points; argument, persuasion, and authority & authenticity. The three nominees for the Thorbecke Prize 2025 are Ingrid Coenradie, Rob Jetten and Jimmy van Dijk.
In the same broadcast, Voermans briefly touched on two other topics. The first was the possible prosecution of two far-right PVV MPs for discrediting former left-wing GroenLinks-PvdA party leader Frans Timmermans using AI images. Voermans says that libel – and not slander – is clearly evident, though he believes that prosecution will not be easy due to the high burden of proof. The other topic was the current formation process for a new government in the Netherlands. Voermans says that only involving two parties at this stage is a smart move to create opportunities to draw up a coalition agreement that other parties will want to join. 'A similar construction was used in the formation of the Kok 1 cabinet (1994-1998) and before then in the Den Uyl 1 cabinet (1973-1977). The momentum of other parties wanting to join in led to that particular Den Uyl cabinet becoming one of the longest-serving cabinets ever.'