The Madrid native who went from a volunteer in Obama’s campaign to a Dutch MEP

The new faces emerging from the recent European Parliament elections do not come only from extremists. In the Netherlands, a woman with dual Spanish and Dutch nationality will occupy a seat representing the left-wing liberals of that country starting next month, when the European Parliament is formed. Raquel García Hermida – who after getting married added her husband’s last name of van der Walle -, 41, clearly defines herself regarding one of the main challenges of this legislature, the relationship between traditional political forces and extreme right. For this MEP, approaching these political options “doesn’t help anyone, except the extreme right.”

In 2011, this Madrid native met her ex-partner in Barcelona. She was at a bachelorette party with some friends and he had traveled with some friends to see a Barcelona game. “I, who am such a Real Madrid fan, must have come to the Netherlands for a Barça fan,” he jokes. For love, she moved to the Netherlands and had her first daughter, now 10 years old. He learned the Dutch language “in an organic way, the way things happen in a small town.” Her entry into politics was equally natural. “I joined D66 in 2018, due to its pro-European agenda, contrary to populism, and fight against climate change. It was a way to contribute to my new host society, where I felt comfortable from the first day.” She and her current husband had two little daughters, twins, aged seven.

Although he suggests that it is possible that in Spain he would also have ended up in politics, a decade ago he channeled his social commitment through his work with NGOs. In the Dutch province of Friesland, where he lives, he has run a municipal public library, and collaborates in the canteen of the amateur soccer team VV Gorredijk. His militancy in D66 shows the open nature of the party. A breadth of vision “that is in the DNA of this formation,” he says. His position as MEP seems to him “the most honorable” one can have. “We are there on behalf of millions of European citizens,” he explains.

In the Netherlands, the turbulent negotiations to form the new Government, led by the Freedom Party (PVV) of ultra leader Geert Wilders, have taken the shine off the European elections, held between June 6 and 9. The Dutch candidates had to work hard to convince citizens of the importance of their vote for decision-making in the EU, which affects a population of almost 450 million inhabitants. This has been García Hermida’s endeavor. “We are all Brussels. “It is not a distant entity where things are done outside of the people,” he defends.

Sitting at the D66 headquarters in The Hague on a bright morning, the new MEP appears ready for the work that awaits her. She wanted to be a sports journalist and she even broadcast two soccer matches on the radio from the Santiago Bernabéu stadium, “an epic moment,” as she explains. However, after working as a communications officer for the political party Together for Pinto (Madrid), and also in various NGOs, and participating as a volunteer in the electoral campaign of former US president Barack Obama, she ended up in Friesland in 2012. It is the province located in the north of the Netherlands, where her party is less represented, and she, who lives in the town of Gorredijk (about 7,500 inhabitants) has tried to give voice to the social liberal current. It seems essential to her because, in her opinion, “where economic development has lagged a little behind is where populism grows.”

In the Netherlands, the alliance between social democrats and environmentalists (GroenLinks-PvdA) with eight MEPs won the European elections. Wilders’ team came in second place, going from one to six representatives. The ultra leader entered the front row of national politics on November 22, 2023, when the right-wing liberals (VVD) showed themselves willing to negotiate with him before the elections. He now heads the right-wing coalition to govern, which is scheduled for its official presentation in early July. The VVD is the party of Mark Rutte – outgoing Prime Minister and future Secretary General of NATO – and MEP García Hermida makes the following reflection: “Conservative and centrist parties are seeing that working with the extreme right does not help anyone, except to the extreme right.”

He does not like to be alarmist, because he does not believe that the anti-European message won in the European elections, and he gives the example of Poland. There, “a moderate coalition under a conservative politician like Donad Tusk has managed to revive what was left of democracy and the rule of law,” he recalls. He advocates “having trust in institutions.” But, above all, he repeats throughout the interview a message that he considers extrapolated to the rest of the EU: “If you want a strong Netherlands, you need a strong Europe.” While waiting for what may happen in the French general elections, “because a French Parliament led by Marine Le Pen would be catastrophic for European progressive forces,” he maintains that liberal and social democratic political parties “have the responsibility to say yes or “No to certain types of pacts.” That is why it seems essential to know where Ursula von der Leyen, current president of the European Commission, will look. That is to say, “if she does it towards the European bloc or she leans towards the extreme right.” In the latter case, D66 would withdraw its support and believes that the entire European Renew bloc (Renew Europe, made up of center, center-left and social liberal parties) would do the same. In any case, she recognizes that European democracy “does not function in many aspects as an adult and deep-rooted democracy and we must dare to reform.”

In his opinion, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and with the pandemic, “people have realized that decision-making in the EU is no longer suitable for addressing certain types of crises.” Hence, he hopes to be able to dedicate himself to institutional reforms, which affect “what we are going to do when we become 36 member countries.” He wonders if, at that point, “we will need a European Commission with 36 commissioners or one that can work logically and effectively.” His party rejects the current right of veto of countries and promotes qualified majorities. Because, he asserts, “that a Viktor Orbán [primer ministro de Hungría] can hold the EU hostage is not acceptable.”

Although he declines to enter Spanish politics – “I’m not there” – he points out that the liberal and center-conservative parties that come to have State responsibility “should not enter into coalitions, not even at the regional level, with the extreme right, to the regardless of how polarized Spain has been in recent years.” At the same time, he recognizes that his party – which went from 24 seats to nine in the Dutch Parliament between 2021 and 2024 – has to “improve communication with the electorate because we have not been able to convey the anti-populist message and defense of individual rights.” in a nuanced way; without the misleading slogans of other formations.”

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