Dear Mrs. Kaag, hello Sigrid,

Did you also raise an eyebrow this morning when Fons Lambie said that you had conducted your first debate ‘without too many slip-ups’? I watched the debate closely and did not see any slip-up. Yes, with Geert Wilders, who you wonderfully scolded: ‘Here you come again with your pathetic black Pete.’ Extremely polite, but with a backbone of concrete. What am I saying? Of steel. I would call Jesse Klaver's small slip-up one where he momentarily forgot who the national coach of the Dutch national team is. Not a big deal, because hey, he is not a sports reporter, but if you are going to indulge in football metaphors, it is handy that they are at least correct. This was a rehearsed example, it seems to me, so Klaver's spin doctor can stand in the corner today. Furthermore, I found it pleasant that Klaver did not always choose to attack, because that would be too easy in this time. Yesterday, I had the impression that if Lilian Marijnissen were asked what her favorite color was, she would still manage to twist the answer so that Mark Rutte was blamed for everything that is wrong in the world. Not to mention the hail of bullets from Geert Wilders.

And that, Mrs. Kaag, is what I found so delightful about you. You were not a trained debater in the political field. You listened to the farmer who said he had another solution for the nitrogen problem, you promised to come by (albeit after the elections, but I understand that), you stated that it was not a contest of being right, but that you wanted to solve the problem together. You were humble at certain points, you were calm and despite the fact that I sometimes saw you wobble on your pumps, I saw a serene sovereignty. You looked at the piste with the eyes of a newcomer, you had no arsenal of tricks in your pocket. You listened, responded as a politician and as a mother. Okay, if there was one slip-up to mention: you were not the only one with four children in the arena. Wopke Hoekstra also has four. But you were indeed the only mother with four children, so in that respect, you were right.

I will be honest, Mrs. Kaag. I do not yet know who will get my vote and whether I will ultimately color your box red, but those douze points for last night go straight to you.