What was it like in December, when VVD, D66, CDA and ChristenUnie again concluded a coalition agreement with each other after the longest formation in history? Prime Minister Mark Rutte promised ‘a new start’, Deputy Prime Minister Sigrid Kaag was the preacher of ‘the new administrative culture’ and ChristenUnie leader Gert-Jan Segers shared his vision of ‘a real turnaround’. ‘With greater openness and more dualism.’
Not everyone who followed the debate with Hugo de Jonge on Thursday (‘I was not involved in Sywert van Lienden’s deal, but I was involved’) will immediately have recognized the new zest of Rutte IV. From the first minute it was clear that the coalition would never let the CDA minister down.
There has always been a school in The Hague that looked with discomfort at the solemn promises about a new administrative culture. Experienced politicians and secularists who believe that the country should above all have a stable government. If it can’t be beautiful, then ugly – ‘political culture’ is fringe. Until his sudden conversion after the ‘function elsewhere’ debate a year ago, Prime Minister Rutte also belonged to that school.
Echoes of Rutte III
The ‘realists’ saw their point confirmed in the debate about the Sywerta affair. As usual, the opposition MPs crowded behind the interruption microphone, while members of the governing parties hung in their benches. Rutte IV looked suspiciously like Rutte III.
Then de Volkskrant Two weeks ago it was revealed that De Jonge was much more intensively involved in the face masks deal than previously reported, there was still some indignation within the governing parties. Just like with the opposition, there is doubt in the coalition whether De Jonge has spoken the truth RTL News after a tour. The question was even asked whether the CDA member could stay on.
The mood within the coalition was not surprising. One of the MPs who were incompletely informed about De Jonge’s involvement last year was coalition leader Jan Paternotte. The current D66 party leader asked many critical questions at the time, but was never told that the CDA minister played a role in the conclusion of the deal.
However, the outrage appeared to have faded when the debate with De Jonge got underway on Thursday. Paternotte left the debate to the inexperienced Wieke Paulusma. He said ‘he could find something’ about the inadequate information provision to the House, but when asked by the opposition, he did not want to say what she thought of it. Like VVD and CDA, D66 hardly asked critical questions – that only changed for a while when opposition MP Pieter Omtzigt could be questioned about his role in the affair.
Where is the ‘new administrative culture’, the opposition wondered. Behind the scenes it can be heard that the coalition was already happy that De Jonge was even prepared to apologize. Not everyone believed in advance that he was capable of this. Especially because the CDA member believes that he can hardly be blamed.
deeply mortified
“I was not involved in the deal,” De Jonge continued on Thursday. He should have been ‘more complete’ and ‘more complete’ in the answers to parliamentary and media questions. But ‘in fact it was really correct’ what he had said about the course of events last year.
De Jonge himself is deeply offended that his integrity has been questioned. The coalition did not want to further embarrass the provoked CDA member, as the matter was not considered important enough for that. After all, De Jonge, like everyone else, was ‘lured by Van Lienden’, as he put it himself.
The outcome of the Sywert debate raises the question among opposition MPs when there will be more dualism. Even within the coalition, not everyone has too high expectations of this. The past formation plays an important role in this. In Rutte III, the coalition of VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie fell over the allowance scandal. After 271 days of formation, this resulted in a coalition of VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie. No one is looking to repeat that process any time soon.
Together in the trenches
A confrontation with the combative De Jonge would have been a risk to the stability of the cabinet. This was also apparent from the almost unconditional support of the CDA faction for its own minister. MP Joba van den Berg revealed himself to be ‘spokesperson for Minister De Jonge’ during the debate, according to a scornful opposition.
On the contrary, the coalition is being united in an aversion to a large part of the opposition. In their view, the majority of the sixteen opposition groups – from the PVV to Bij1 – make no attempt at all to ever take government responsibility and would mainly aim to gain publicity through attacks on the cabinet. In that world view, the coalition parties sit together in the trenches where they have to defend themselves against incoming fire from opposition and media.
The initiation of Rutte IV during the Sywert debate probably did not bring the new administrative culture any closer. The first bill is now open within the coalition. VVD, D66 and ChristenUnie have been lenient for CDA member Hugo de Jonge. If a minister of another party soon falters, CDA leader Wopke Hoekstra will be reminded delicately: dualism is beautiful, but not now.