Nature and Environment Federation Drenthe is disappointed that the Rutte IV cabinet has fallen. “Standing still is going backwards”, foreman Reinder Hoekstra looks ahead to the future. Hoekstra is disappointed in his first reaction.
But after recovering for a while, Hoekstra also sees opportunities. “I immediately thought: oh, here we go again,” says Hoekstra, “but now with the new college that was presented on Wednesday, I also think: now we have to press ahead. If we press ahead now, we will not lose any time.”
Hoekstra sees opportunities now that a new provincial government has just been installed in Drenthe and a coalition agreement has been presented. “It was unclear for the last four years what is happening in Drenthe, now we can make a plan.”
Looking at national policy, he fears that the end date in the nitrogen law will now definitely go from 2030 to 2035. “And the agricultural agreement has not been reached either,” says Hoekstra. “We can sit still, but we have to move on.”
Hoekstra does not see the fall of the cabinet as something positive for the farmers either. “The 24 billion that will be reserved for the transition of agriculture, it was not yet certain. It may not come now.”
Although he sees possibilities, disappointment prevails. “We’re at an impasse again.”