The Schoof cabinet, the group of ministers and state secretaries that are part of the current Dutch government, was in crisis discussions on Friday. Nora Achahbar (NSC), State Secretary for Benefits and Customs, had announced that she would resign. She made that decision earlier this week after tensions rose during Monday’s Council of Ministers. The council of ministers was convened due to the violence in Amsterdam after the football match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv.
During that cabinet meeting, some colleagues allegedly made racist statements about migrants and Islam, Achahbar believes. According to De Volkskrant the State Secretary would especially have an objection to the Minister of Finance Eelco Heinen of the VVD. But his camp strongly denies that he said anything wrong. Nevertheless, Achahbar believes that she can no longer function in the department after the cabinet meeting in question. (Read more below the photo)
Nora Achahbar (NSC) is resigning as State Secretary. — © ANP / ANP
What do other NSC members do?
Due to the decision of the State Secretary to resign, there were fears that the other cabinet members of the New Social Contract party would also leave. For example, sources told the broadcaster NOS that Judith Uitermark, the Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, would have reacted with disapproval to certain statements by other ministers.
If any ministers or state secretaries for NSC were to resign, which according to Dutch media was certainly a possibility, the entire cabinet would be in jeopardy. NSC also includes Eppo Bruins (Minister of Education, Culture and Science), Eddy van Hijum (Minister of Social Affairs and Employment), Caspar Veldkamp (Minister of Foreign Affairs), Teun Struycken (State Secretary for Legal Protection) and Tjebbe van Oostenbruggen (State Secretary). of Finance) in the cabinet. If they resign, Prime Minister Schoof’s coalition with PVV, VVD and BBB would be in doubt. Without the NSC, the Schoof government no longer has a majority in the House of Representatives. (Read more below the photo)
Journalists gather at the Catshuis, the official residence of Prime Minister Dick Schoof. — © ANP / ANP
Due to the atmosphere of crisis, the Council of Ministers was convened on Friday at the Catshuis, the official residence of Prime Minister Dick Schoof. The leaders of the four government parties – the far-right PVV of Geert Wilders, the liberal VVD, center party NSC and the BoerBurgerBeweging (BBB) - also arrived on the scene.
Meetings continued for hours – an Indian supper was even delivered – before white smoke emerged. The Schoof cabinet goes further. State Secretary Nora Achahbar will resign, but the other members of NSC will remain in office.
Prime Minister Schoof gave a short press conference late on Friday evening, in which he emphasized that there is no racism within his cabinet. “There is a lot of unrest in the country. It has been an emotional and intense week. Tempers sometimes flare up,” he said, referring to the riots in Amsterdam after the football match. “But I am confident that there was and is no racism. This is a cabinet that fights against racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination.” He then emphasized that confidence was expressed within the government to move forward and that the Netherlands is now “waiting for solutions, not postponements.”