The coalition that had been creaking for months was broken yesterday morning. After a brief consultation about the asylum plans of the PVV, Geert Wilders pulled the plug from the Schoof cabinet. And with that the Netherlands stands for an uncertain political period.
What does such a cabinet trap actually mean? And what can you expect as a resident of Drenthe in the coming period? The editors of Find it out! Dived into these questions.
Now that the cabinet has fallen, it continues as a ‘outgoing’. That means that the government still manages, but only handles current affairs. Making new plans or making big decisions is no longer allowed. Asylum laws, such as those of the now resigned PVV minister Marjolein Faber, are probably put on the shelf.
Other controversial or radical measures will also be paused for the time being. Today a decision is made about this by the Lower House.
For Drenthe, not much will change in the short term. Although there are themes that require solutions. For example, the province is in the middle of issues concerning the reception of asylum seekers, housing and accessibility.
The Association of Dutch Municipalities (VNG), to which the Drenthe municipalities are affiliated, is worried. Eric van Oosterhout is mayor of Emmen and secretary of the VNG. He responds to the news of the cabinet trap, and wonders what remains intact from the agreements made to increase safety in Nieuw-Weerdinge.
“The money for the reception in Nieuw-Weerdinge is ready. That can’t wait until after the elections.” Nevertheless, it remains exciting whether commitments will last, especially now that a new (outgoing) minister is coming. “We just need that extra money very much.”
The municipalities are not the only ones who need the money. The reactions from trade unions and educational organizations do not lie. The General Education Association and the National Student Union hope that the fall of the cabinet means the end of the planned cuts on education and research.
Trade union CNV speaks of a missed opportunity for the cabinet to really mean something for working the Netherlands. The FNV calls the fall “good news”, because, according to them, the cabinet “did not do anything for each other” and set up people against each other. In short: for those who feared less unemployment benefits, higher excise duties or cuts on the study, this may be a breath break. Although it is not said that those plans are definitely off the table.
Entrepreneur and Drenthe VVD chairman Ewout Klok can hardly keep his anger about the fall of the cabinet. “Do you have to see what consequences this has for Drenthe,” he says. “We just have to get started. Just look at entrepreneurs. We work hard every day to keep our pants on. And then you see how it is being done so lightly in The Hague, resulting in the fall of the cabinet as a result. While we have much bigger problems than asylum.”
Regarding housing and the nitrogen file in Drenthe, there is still much uncertain about how to proceed. “Now files remain that had been resolved yesterday, such as housing and nitrogen,” said King Jetta Klijnsma Commissioner.
Klijnsma therefore wants elections quickly. “A minority cabinet is not going to help solve files such as housing and nitrogen. There is a chance that the House of Representatives will explain subjects controversially.”
So there are probably new elections coming now. But when and how fast, that depends on what is happening in The Hague. First it is checked whether the current outgoing cabinet can and can still handle certain things.
In the meantime, political parties can prepare themselves for a new campaign. For the municipalities, that may mean a substantial cost item. The VNG estimates that the previous elections cost around 93 million euros. And the upcoming polls will also require time, money and organization.