Remkes was ‘not amused’ after HJ Schoo lecture Kaag: ‘Atmosphere was a bit chilly’ | Inland

Remkes tells this on Sunday afternoon at Buitenhof, where he looks back on the months-long formation together with co-informer Wouter Koolmees. Remkes started in September, when relations had reached a low point, with blockades between the parties on both sides. The negotiations then became even more difficult when Kaag portrayed Rutte in her lecture as a visionless hustler.

‘Not amused’, was Remkes’ feeling after that lecture, a few days before his start as an informer. “I heard it with very mixed feelings. This was a very false start.” According to the VVD member, this was also apparent at the negotiating table: “The atmosphere was a bit chilly in the beginning.”

A few weeks later, the ‘drinking gossip’ came over this, with the suggestion from D66 that Remkes had had a few too many drinks during the formation talks. “I don’t want to waste any more words,” said Remkes, who was visibly affected on Sunday. D66 member Koolmees also thought the gossip ‘very unwise’: “And it is very sensible that apologies have been offered.” Ultimately, according to Remkes, the atmosphere at the negotiating table has ‘improved very much’.

Bergkamp

De Groninger also shed light on the confrontations in the House of Representatives last week, and the public criticism that came with the lack of order by the President of the House Vera Bergkamp. “The House must look at its own rules of the game,” Remkes holds up a mirror to the MPs. He believes that the chairman should be supported in public in maintaining order. “And if the MPs think that she is not doing well, this must be discussed in the privacy of the presidency (the day-to-day management of the Chamber, ed.).”

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