This afternoon’s debate in the House of Representatives on the benefits affair will probably also turn into an election debate. Prime Minister Rutte, with his VVD amply in the lead in the polls before March 17, will be the target of the other parties.
Almost all of them delegate their group chairman for the debate, which indicates where the priority lies. Only the CDA allows the specialist on this file, Pieter Omtzigt, to speak.
The debate starts at 1 p.m. with a statement from Rutte about the resignation of his cabinet last Friday. Then he said that the rule of law has failed to protect citizens from the all-powerful government. “If the whole system has failed, only joint responsibility can be borne.” That is why the cabinet resigned.
The debate can be followed live this afternoon on NPO 1, NPO Politiek and via a livestream on NOS.nl and in the NOS app.
Unbelievable
The opposition parties in particular will attack Rutte that, despite the unprecedented injustice done to civilians, he simply wants to become prime minister again. They think he has become implausible. As prime minister, he may not have been directly responsible, but he was ultimately responsible, that is their reasoning.
Rutte himself never considered stepping down as party leader, because he says he was not directly involved in the allowance file. Opposition parties will accuse him that that was precisely the problem. He has let it run its course for too long, they think.
The prime minister will also be blamed for poorly informing the House of Representatives. Due to the so-called Rutte doctrine, which means that discussions between civil servants must remain internal, important pieces did not surface until very late. The cabinet has promised improvement in this; all relevant documents will from now on be sent immediately to the House and journalists, it has been said.
Click here to see how parties reacted to the resignation of the cabinet last Friday:
–
