Eric van der Burg, outgoing State Secretary for Justice and Security, resigned from his duties last weekend for an indefinite period. The VVD member suffered “severe food poisoning” during a business trip to Aruba at the end of last week. announced outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Saturday X. Van der Burg himself responded for the first time on Sunday afternoon to the poisoning, “for which I was treated in hospital. Things are getting better, but recovery takes time. I hope to gain further strength soon so that I can fly to the Netherlands again. Thanks to State Secretary Van der Maat for observing,” he wrote on the former Twitter.
Given “the weight of his portfolio”, Van der Burg must be replaced immediately, Rutte also wrote. For this purpose he put forward the current outgoing State Secretary for Defense Christophe Van der Maat (VVD).
He will be sworn in by King Willem-Alexander as Van der Burg’s successor on Monday, after his resignation as political leader at Defense. “Someone is needed on his portfolio now. So I jump in,” wrote Van der Maat this weekend LinkedIn.
The retirement of the energetic Van der Burg, responsible for the implementation of asylum policy since Rutte IV, comes at a difficult time. On Tuesday, the Senate will decide whether the so-called dispersal law – which gives the cabinet the option to force municipalities to take in asylum seekers if necessary – will be declared controversial. This happens more often with politically sensitive topics after the fall of a cabinet.
But even if that does not happen, Van der Maat will, like his predecessor, have to continue to peddle municipalities for additional shelter places for the time being. The situation at the registration center in Ter Apel is, once again, dire. Due to a lack of flow, people again had to spend the night in waiting areas.
How different the situation was for Van der Maat (43) at Defense. There he had billions to invest in the Dutch armed forces. Now the Tilburg-trained lawyer and public administration expert will have to rely on lobbying and persuasion. Van der Maat was previously a deputy in Brabant and a member of the central board of his party.
His duties at Defense are temporarily fulfilled by the only minister in the department, Kajsa Ollongren (D66).