Rita Verdonk, the former immigration minister and now supremo of nationalist party TON, went on tv last night to tell the world that she no longer has personal protection paid for by the government.

‘I feel so powerless,’ Verdonk told the show. ‘From Saturday I will be driving in my own car’.
The anti-terrorism service says her security provision has simply been repackaged because the threat level against her has changed. This is, of course, not good news for someone who likes to be seen as a threat to the established political order.
Still, there is no better way than to re-establish your credentials than to go on tv and complain about how your life is in danger. If Verdonk really is under constant threat, the strangest thing she could do is give a tv and newspaper interview to tell everyone she no longer has an armoured car and bodyguards. Headlines guaranteed.
Questions are being raised in parliament about why this MP is being denied the security she needs. Freedom of speech is again under threat etc etc. Her spin doctors must be very satisfied with all the publicity.
In the meantime, Verdonk says she has cancelled the rest of her fundraising tour of the country. Which makes one wonder what the turnout at these events has actually been.