The investigation into Baudet that did not come

Shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the House wanted action. One of the motions passed Feb. 28 centered on an investigation into “parties, politicians and advocacy groups” that may have been funded by the Russian state or Russian legal entities. Jesse Klaver of GroenLinks submitted the motion, and he received support from almost the entire House – only the PVV was against. All the media brought the news, too NRC and NOS.

There was also good ground for this research in itself. zembla Already in 2020, Thierry Baudet revealed suspicious apps within FVD about his contacts with Russian Vladimir Kornilov in the run-up to the Ukraine referendum in 2016. pro-Russian think tank in Paris.

After leaving there, Laughland went to work in 2018 for French MEP Jean-Luc Schaffhauser, a prominent member of Marine Le Pen’s party. According to Baudet’s biography, Schaffhauser was previously My opinions are facts (Harm Botje and Mischa Cohen, 2020) involved in a loan á 9 million euros to Le Pen’s party, provided by a bank with ‘ties to the Kremlin’, thus the BBC. When Schaffhauser lost his European seat, Baudet hired the man at the European FVD faction. He promptly made him the ‘party ideologue’ of the FVD.

So every reason to check the financial ties of FVD and Baudet with Russian donors. However, it now appears that the House has still not been able to submit a formal request for an investigation to the Court of Audit. The Court of Auditors confirms this to me.

The quick action of just after the invasion did not get such a quick follow-up. What is the case: the House had not previously inquired with the Court of Audit whether this High Council of State could conduct research into political parties. The parties are private organizations, and President Arno Visser already threw at Radio 1 whether the Court of Auditors has ‘the powers’ to do so.

In the meantime, other agencies also appear to be unsuitable. The Public Prosecution Service will only act if there is a reasonable suspicion of a criminal offence. The government wants to remain cautious when investigating parties. And so, a month and a half later, there is no concrete prospect of the agreed investigation.

This week’s current affairs are turning to political consultations about national finances: who will pay for the setbacks of the war? Another sign that The Hague is approaching the war mainly from a practical point of view, and that the bigger questions underneath, such as the Russian ties of some politicians, are only briefly postponed after a rash start.