Shortly after announcing she would be candidate, a poll for the RTL 4 News estimated that 56% of the people preferred Verdonk as the leader of the VVD. Rita Verdonk was advised by Kay van de Linde, who also played a part in anti-immigration politician Pim Fortuyn 's 2002 election campaign, which was cut short by his assassination on May 6. Several of her statements and policies seem to exploit xenophobic emotions in the country, according to her opponents.
Rita Verdonk
Kay van de Linde