Age Halma from Driebergen traveled to the Political Members’ Council of the PvdA in Apeldoorn for one reason only: the Arib issue. He wants “explanation, reparation and an expression of regret” about the way in which the much-appreciated Member of Parliament Khadija Arib was “thrown in front of the bus” by both the presidium of the House and his own group. The political leadership of the House decided last week to open an external investigation into Arib after complaints about transgressive behavior during her time as Speaker of the House of Representatives. That confidential decision was made through NRC leaked.
“Whatever the case is,” says Halma, “you have to stand up for your own people as a group.” He believes that party chairman Attje Kuiken should openly account for this this Saturday. “Because we, members of the Labor Party, have also been vicariously hurt. I hope that Attje will be able to rally behind Khadija with a declaration of love.”
It was initially not on the agenda, but the members’ council in the Orpheus Theater was dominated by the Arib affair. To the great regret of many members present, she had decided last Saturday to resign after 24 years of membership because she felt the victim of a ‘political reckoning’ by the current Speaker of the House Vera Bergkamp (D66) and because of the lack of support from her own fraction. “The latter contributed to my decision,” Arib had written in her farewell statement.
Also read: Under acclaimed Chamber President Khadija Arib, one official after another snapped
Attje Kuiken took a humble attitude in her public responsibility for the approximately four hundred party members. “Everything I haven’t done right myself is painful and sad, and I care about that.” And: “It is painful that Khadija has not felt supported.” In retrospect, she said, “of course perhaps” she should have signed the letter that several other parties had sent to the presidency asking for clarification. It was that letter from the SP and the Party for the Animals, among others, about which Arib had written in her farewell message: “It is hard for me that my group members are missing from this letter.”
Selection procedure
It was striking that in her extensive answers to questions by concerned members, Kuiken always emphasized that the unrest about Arib’s management style came from employees ‘from the House of Representatives’. “And not from employees of our group or the PvdA”. She wanted to dispel the impression that the employment relationship with Arib has also been difficult or unsafe within the party. NRC reported on Thursday that it has also been known within the PvdA for years that many employees had great difficulty with Arib. Still, as a popular politician, she kept returning to the list of candidates.
Two questioners raised this issue in Apeldoorn: what about the guarantees for a safe working environment within the PvdA? And how can potential authority problems in the selection of candidate MPs be prevented in the future? Kuiken reacted somewhat irritated to that last question: “You imply that there was a problem with the selection procedure in 2016. That was not the case. There were no complaints from employees at the time.”
According to Kuiken, a recently conducted internal satisfaction survey shows that employees of the PvdA party are satisfied with the atmosphere in the workplace. And if there are reports of insecurity, the group leader swore, “we must take it very seriously”.
Khadija Arib received a loud (but seated) ovation from the Council of Members
At the end of the Q&A session, an irritated party member – he had waited a long time to speak – proposed to show support “for the human being Khadija Arib” by means of a motion in the Members’ Council. Because it was not allowed by law to file any more motions, party chairman Esther-Mirjam Sent instead asked for a “big round of applause for the human being Khadija and the pain she is still experiencing”. A loud (but seated) ovation followed.
This certainly did not blow off all steam about the painful issue surrounding the popular Member of Parliament Arib. There is still anger and frustration about, in particular, the way in which the presidency has dealt with the issue surrounding the proposed integrity investigation. “I also don’t have an answer to all the questions about the process that our members have,” Kuiken said afterwards. „I will certainly pass them on to the presidency – because I also have those questions. I also wanted to make that clear today.”
Age Halma from Driebergen from Driebergen was not satisfied afterwards. Yes, it was good that members were able to ask Kuiken all their questions, but there is still too much unclear for him. Moreover – and that was what he wanted to hear – the praise party leader Kuiken expressed about Arib was, in his eyes, “weak and weak”. “Kuiken spoke mainly about the human being Arib, not about what she has meant as a Member of Parliament.”