Minister: Chamber must decide on limiting gifts to politicians
It is up to the House of Representatives to set a limit to the maximum amount that a donor can donate to a political party per year. Parliament itself must also determine how the amount may be, according to Minister Hanke Bruins Slot of the Interior. The subject has become topical at the Binnenhof since CDA and D66 each received one million euros prior to the elections last year.
During a debate on the financing of political parties, she said that she would not advise against proposals from a number of parties, but that she would leave the judgment to the House. No restriction has been included in a bill that the cabinet submitted at the end of 2020.
But a large part of the House already announced last week that it was in favor of a maximum. They just have different amounts in mind. For example, the VVD, SP, PvdA and Pieter Omtzigt want to set the limit at 100,000 euros. GroenLinks wants 25,000 euros.
The minister believes that both private individuals and legal entities, such as companies and organisations, should continue to make donations to political parties. SP, PvdA and GroenLinks, among others, want only private individuals to be allowed to donate and not legal entities. They are afraid that parties will allow themselves to be influenced by companies and that is undesirable. In their view, even the appearance of a conflict of interest is not good for the already diminished confidence of citizens in politics.