For two years, Hugo de Jonge as corona minister survived difficult parliamentary debates about lagging testing capacity or vaccination campaigns that started too slowly. But precisely now that he, as Minister for Housing, is no longer politically responsible for the fight against corona, he is getting further and further into political problems on that file.
The flow of messages about his precise involvement in the controversial face mask deal with Sywert van Lienden continues, as a result of which De Jonge feels compelled to defend his old portfolio in the House of Representatives next Thursday. A novelty under constitutional law and a politically explosive choice that could save his future in the cabinet, or put it at risk.
The problems for De Jonge started two weeks ago, when de Volkskrant reported that as a minister he did indeed have a role in the mouth mask deal while he had publicly denied it. In the spring of 2020, De Jonge urged a top official to start talks with Van Lienden, who then concluded a deal with the ministry that in retrospect is seen as a fiasco because Van Lienden earned millions and supplied defective mouth caps. The House of Representatives wants to know exactly how much De Jonge’s involvement in the deal was and whether he has informed parliament fully and correctly.
private email
On Monday, the message was added that De Jonge had frequently sent working documents to his private email during the corona crisis. This is contrary to the advice in the ‘Handbook for ministers of government’, which states that the use of private e-mail is “seriously discouraged for work-related purposes” due to the sensitivity of the information. The Ministry of Health says it has warned De Jonge against the use of his private e-mail, but that the minister has made “a personal assessment”.
It is not clear whether De Jonge used his private email when communicating about the face mask deal. In the House, some parties believe that De Jonge, by using his private e-mail, created the appearance that he had something to hide, or that he wanted to prevent the disclosure of messages via the Government Information (Public Access) Act (Wob).
De Jonge denied this on Tuesday and said that he used his private email out of convenience during the corona crisis because the email from the ministry was “quite user-unfriendly”. That is “not as it should be”, acknowledged De Jonge, who only stopped using private e-mail for work “this week”. His previous and current ministry is now inventorying which emails have been sent from his private address and whether all emails have been preserved.
Minimal information
Accountancy firm Deloitte, which is currently conducting an independent investigation into the face mask deal, did not want to say in a technical briefing in the House on Tuesday whether it could have access to De Jonge’s private e-mail. According to forensic accountant Gerrie Lenting, Deloitte “cannot go into individual cases”, but collecting sufficient data is “rarely a stumbling block”. Deloitte also did not want to answer the many substantive questions from the House about the mouth mask deal. Lenting said that his agency wants to present “the whole complex of facts, in mutual connection”. Deloitte hopes to do this before the summer.
MPs present at the briefing reacted visibly irritated to the minimal information that Deloitte was able to provide. They can now question De Jonge on Thursday, but they still do not have all the facts about the deal with Sywert van Lienden. Many parties are happy that De Jonge is coming to the debate. “I want to know why, and what interference he had,” PvdA MP Attje Kuiken told ANP news agency on Tuesday. D66 leader Jan Paternotte said it was logical that De Jonge himself is because it concerns questions that are “directed to him very personally”.
‘Contradictory strange’
Prime Minister Mark Rutte (VVD) called it “statutory strange” in a response that De Jonge will speak about his old portfolio, but supports the minister with whom he tried to manage the corona crisis for two years. “This is really his decision. He wants this, I understand his and respect his. So much is being suggested, now give him a chance to defend himself.” The coalition parties also understand De Jonge’s arrival in the House, because, according to a source, “broad discomfort” is felt about the situation that has arisen.
Also read: Mouth caps deal continues to haunt De Jonge and his fellow ministers
According to parliamentary historian Bert van den Braak, it is the first time in history that a minister will account for a previous portfolio in a parliamentary debate. Van den Braak thinks it is “a bit strange” that De Jonge comes to the House because he now happens to have another ministerial post. “That does not happen with other former ministers who have left politics. That way you get two regimes and there is a threat of precedent: why shouldn’t the House do this again with De Jonge, or someone else?”
Self confidence
De Jonge will hope that his choice to appear in the debate will turn out well. For example, he responds to the call from the House to be open, so that the issue may be pushed to the background. Then he must convince parliament that his own role in the deal was no greater than he previously reported and that he is not trying to withhold any information. Doubts about his integrity and his reliability as a minister “cannot hang in the air”, PvdA member Kuiken summed it up on Tuesday.
Whether De Jonge can take that away also depends on the tone he will choose on Thursday. In previous corona debates, De Jonge was accused of not admitting mistakes and defending his own actions very defensively. If he does that again, the opposition and coalition will probably be less understanding now that the crisis is over and the call for political settlement is getting louder and louder. It seems that nothing has changed in De Jonge’s self-confidence. To a question from a journalist on Tuesday whether he will still be a minister after Thursday, De Jonge replied: “Yes, I think so.”