Minister Sander Dekker will not return in Rutte IV: ‘Time for something different’ | Inland

The four parties VVD, CDA, D66 and CU are currently looking for and screening new ministers under the leadership of formateur Rutte. A number of familiar faces from the previous cabinet will not return. Last week the CU ministers Paul Blokhuis and Arie Slob waved goodbye. Now it is Sander Dekker who announces his retreat.

Nestor

“I once started as the youngest member of government in the Rutte II cabinet, now I am the nestor of the company,” said Dekker (46).

The VVD member says he has always been involved with new talent within his party: “Scouting, training, selection. Then you shouldn’t be surprised that a new generation takes over at some point. In fact: mission accomplished!” Dekker has been Minister for Legal Protection since 2017. Before that he was State Secretary for Education, Culture and Science.

In an interview with De Telegraaf recently, Dekker announced new measures to cut off prisoners at risk of flight in the aftermath of the murders of Derk Wiersum and Peter R. de Vries.

never finished

According to the VVD member, the residence of very serious criminals, in particular from organized crime, under a normal prison regime too often causes problems.

The work of a Minister for Legal Protection ‘is never finished’, according to Dekker. “But we have taken important steps with a firm approach against crime and strengthening the position of victims.”

VVD leader Mark Rutte says he will say goodbye to Dekker with ‘respect and admiration for everything he has done for the VVD and for the Netherlands’. “As a minister, Sander was not only concerned with his own portfolio, but was more widely involved in and interested in other dossiers as well. He was always willing to help and think along, no matter how busy he was.”

touchstone

He does not yet know what Dekker will do next. “But my heart is with the public good. How do we make the world we live in a little better? That will always be my touchstone for the next step.”

The Rutte IV cabinet should soon appear on the platform. Rutte said earlier that the VVD is aiming for ‘new impetus’ in the new cabinet. Like the other three parties, the VVD also wants to come up with new faces.

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