Opposition united and unprecedentedly fierce against cabinet: govern or resign

ANP GroenLinks leader Klaver in the debate

NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 12:30

The opposition in the House of Representatives has united forces and is attacking the cabinet. In the debate on the results of the Provincial Council elections on March 15, opposition parties from left to right are unprecedentedly fierce about Rutte IV’s actions. “Do what you were hired to do: govern this country,” said PvdA leader Attje Kuiken. “Please put the national interest above your own interest and leave,” said Geert Wilders of the PVV.

Prior to the debate, a large number of opposition parties consulted each other about the strategy. They have agreed not to interrupt each other unnecessarily and to focus their arrows mainly on the coalition parties VVD, D66, CDA and ChristenUnie and on the cabinet. In the order of the debate, all opposition parties will speak first, followed by the coalition.

See for yourself what Wilders, Kuiken and Klaver (GroenLinks) had to say to the cabinet:

Opposition starts the debate with Rutte and deputy prime ministers fiercely

In the States elections, the coalition suffered a major defeat, while newcomer BBB achieved a huge victory. According to Caroline van der Plas of that party, this was not only related to the nitrogen policy. “Nitrogen is a symbol of everything that is not going well in this country.” Then she came up with a long list, from the earthquakes in Groningen, children who have been placed out of their homes as a result of the benefits affair, to the Red Cross that has to provide food aid in the Netherlands. “How many more examples do you need to interpret the election results?” Van der Plas asked.

Dark red voter card

“The coalition has the ability to exacerbate any problem instead of solving it,” said Kuiken of the PvdA. “It makes me grumpy. This country needs a cabinet with decisiveness.” “Mr Rutte, rule or step down,” said her colleague Jesse Klaver of GroenLinks. “The voter has given you a dark red card,” Wilders told the cabinet. “Then you have to leave the field. Why are you still there?”

Last Friday’s cabinet press conference in particular is a thorn in the side of the opposition parties. The cabinet has decided to pause the nitrogen approach for a while, but Rutte said on Friday that the approach is being accelerated. How that will happen was not clear.

“What is it now? Will the policy be paused, accelerated or will it remain the same? Clarify!”, said Klaver. According to him, politicians are masters of speaking the law, which is crooked. “Last Friday was the high mass of that.”

Get out and about a bit more. Also to where the intercity does not stop or where the last bus stop has just been pulled out of the ground.

SGP leader Kees van der Staaij

“Do we still have a coalition agreement?” Kuiken asked. “The provinces must know what they have to comply with.” The CDA wants to break open the coalition agreement and renegotiate especially in the field of nitrogen. The party wants to get rid of the 2030 deadline for halving emissions. But that renegotiation should only take place in a few months, when the new governments in the provinces have been formed. They must implement the nitrogen policy.

According to many opposition parties, the government parties are trying to save their lives and buy time. “It is the ultimate cowardice to put it on the plate of the provinces”, Wilders said.

There should be clarity about the nitrogen policy much sooner. “That should be clear within a week or two,” said Kees van der Staaij of the SGP. He called on the ministers to listen more often in society. That, he says, is also a lesson from the election results. “Go out a bit more. Also to where the intercity doesn’t stop or where the last bus stop has just been pulled out of the ground.”

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