Although Bergkamp said last Friday that he would like to ‘glue the pieces together’, political The Hague is increasingly doubting whether the D66 member is the right person for this. If it is up to the chairman of the works council of the House, Bergkamp will pack her bags.
According to Michel Meerts, ‘the departure of the presidium is the only solution that is still acceptable to the civil service’. However, the works council is not in charge. Bergkamp is elected by the MPs, who decide whether or not their chairman can stay on. On Friday, Bergkamp put her political fate in the hands of the House by announcing a plenary vote for next week on whether or not an external investigation into her predecessor Khadija Arib (PvdA) should go ahead.
If the House votes against that investigation into an alleged ‘reign of terror’ by Arib, the presidium – which includes eight MPs from the largest parties, led by Bergkamp – will probably throw in the towel. Should Bergkamp notice earlier that it lacks support, it cannot be ruled out that she will draw her conclusions sooner.
coalition parties
In any case, coalition parties D66 and CU are already saying that the investigation should continue. “Let the investigation be carried out in peace and safety,” says D66 MP Joost Sneller. According to CU MP Mirjam Bikker, the departure of the top official is ‘extremely painful’. “This makes it clear that the House currently offers insufficient security for employees.”
Most parties in the House did not want to say anything this weekend about the investigation and the position of Bergkamp. They are waiting for a letter from the presidency stating how to proceed. The letter, expected on Monday, should clarify whether the investigation into Arib will be overhauled and broadened, as some groups want.
Difficulty with the allegations
But Bergkamp does not seem to want to set aside the two anonymous letters about Arib – which prompted the investigation. “If something happens at a hockey club, reports, then you also investigate it,” she said Friday at an inserted press conference after the sudden departure of the official top.
Part of the House has great difficulty with the fact that the accusations against Arib are years old. It is also unknown what exactly the PvdA MP, who has since resigned, is suspected of. “There are still so many gunpowder fumes in The Hague,” says SGP leader Kees van der Staaij, nestor in the Chamber. “The visibility is not optimal to make a good judgement. But what is happening now is reflected in the whole of political The Hague. That is not good.”
Former Chamber Presidents
Former Speakers of Parliament are also shocked by the chaos that has ensued. “It is bizarre what is happening here,” said former Speaker of the House Gerdi Verbeet (PvdA) at the TV program on Sunday. Buitenhof . “The Chinese are laughing their asses off. Apparently our democracy doesn’t work. I think that’s terrible.” According to former chairman Frans Weisglas (VVD), ‘group leaders must now put their affairs in order’.
Verbeet questions the resignation of the official top. In a farewell letter, Clerk Simone Roos – the most senior civil servant in the House – writes that in her opinion ‘the political leadership’ has done too little to prevent officials from being ‘drawn into a public and political debate’. Clerk Roos, who was in her place for more than four years, says that she herself had bad experiences under the Arib regime.
‘Room mainly busy with itself’
“Politics is not necessarily a safe situation,” says Verbeet. “If you don’t like noise, you shouldn’t go to the races in Zandvoort. I think that all people in the House of Representatives should treat employees in a decent, decent and friendly way. But you also have to understand from each other that you can be grumpy as chairman, if things don’t go well.”
It disturbs SP Member of Parliament Renske Leijten that the House seems to be mainly concerned with itself. She thinks it ‘wise’ not to say anything about Bergkamp’s fate for now. According to her, the resignation of the management team is not a disaster. “I assume that everyone in the Chamber will continue to do their job,” says Leijten. “Then we will remain the well-oiled machine that we are, from the security guards and ushers to the support committee officials and the staff in the restaurant. These are all people who do their important work with integrity and service every day.”
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