The parliamentary debate on the parliamentary inquiry into gas extraction threatens to end in disappointment for Groningen next week. Whether the inhabitants will really notice the repayment of the debt of honor is the question.
Prime Minister Rutte is facing a tough debate full of reproaches. But a majority of the House of Representatives ultimately seems to largely support the cabinet next Tuesday and Wednesday in its response to the harsh report of the parliamentary inquiry into gas extraction. A response that, according to the province of Groningen, the municipalities and other Groningen organizations, is wholly inadequate.
The coalition parties VVD, D66, CDA, and ChristenUnie actually think the government’s response to the report of the parliamentary committee of inquiry into gas extraction in Groningen is very neat. They have comments here and there, but in general they seem to support the cabinet. This means there is a majority in parliament.
Division within Groningen
In their positive response to the government plan, the coalition parties make use of the division within Groningen between the province and municipalities on the one hand and the Groninger Gasberaad and the Groninger Bodem Beweging on the other. The two interest groups believe that the province and municipalities place too much emphasis on bringing in money for the economy, social development and quality of life.
Moreover, regional politics focuses not only on the immediate earthquake area, but also on other parts of the province. The political administrators believe that the debt of honor to Groningen and Drenthe also means that the government should invest much more in the North in order to reduce the historical arrears. GBB and Gasberaad fear that as a result, damage repair and the reinforcement of homes in the earthquake area itself receive too little attention and money.
47 billion versus 22 billion
There is a big difference in money between the Groningen wishes and the cabinet, but there is a lot of juggling with amounts. Groningen wants 30 billion euros plus unlimited money for damage and reinforcement, which will cost at least 12 billion euros and probably 5 billion more if you also want to tackle the foundations properly. So together at least 47 billion.
The government offers less than half: the 13 billion euros for damage and reinforcement, but 8 billion of that had already been promised. In addition, the government is allocating 9 billion euros for insulation, the economy and quality of life. That makes more than 22 billion euros in total. The Cabinet
What makes the debate even more complicated is that it also revolves around political responsibility; will the cabinet fall or should Prime Minister Mark Rutte or State Secretary Hans Vijlbrief resign? In addition, the survey report of two thousand pages and eleven recommendations and the government’s response with fifty policy plans must be discussed. Opposition parties and ‘Groningen’ fear that the substantive discussion will be snowed under by political wrangling about whether ‘heads will roll’.