No perspective and now also no minister, was the concise summary of SP MP Renske Leijten in the House of Representatives this week about the impasse in agricultural policy since Henk Staghouwer (ChristenUnie) announced his resignation on Monday. Opposition parties urged the cabinet to urgently find a successor for Staghouwer: the ‘reflections’ of Johan Remkes, who discussed the controversial nitrogen plans with the cabinet and farmers’ organizations in the summer, are expected later this month. Moreover, Staghouwer had promised the farmers that he would come up with a better ‘perspective letter’ as soon as possible, about how farmers can become more sustainable in the coming years and still earn enough.
A new appointment is expected after next week at the earliest
ChristenUnie leader Gert-Jan Segers is now looking for a replacement for Staghouwer. He just said on Tuesday that the search would be “not a rush job”. A new appointment is expected after next week at the earliest. The party says that the new candidate must be well aware of the heavy task that awaits him or her. The ChristenUnie also wants to talk to the three other coalition parties about the mandate of the new minister, because Staghouwer would have been caught between opposing wishes of the four parties. Moreover, the ministry is temporarily in good hands with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Poverty Policy Carola Schouten, agriculture minister in Rutte III. She continues to work on the new perspective letter.
Staghouwer’s successor must be someone with authority who takes concrete action
Position of Schouten
At the same time, Schouten’s position is also an argument for quickly finding a replacement. Schouten has her hands full with her portfolio in the cabinet now that large groups of Dutch people are in danger of getting into financial difficulties as a result of sky-high inflation and rising energy prices. Poverty policy and agriculture are “two monster jobs side by side,” says one person involved.
Given her experience, Schouten could return to Agriculture permanently, but that would cause another vacancy at Social Affairs. In addition, Schouten added in 2020 Summer guests on the idea of multiple deadlines on Agriculture: “I don’t want to think about it.” In the previous period, Schouten often came into conflict with the farmers about nitrogen. It cannot be ruled out that Segers will have to knock on her door again.
For the time being, he is looking for alternatives within his own party. Various farmers’ organisations, including Agractie, gave the ChristenUnie the unsolicited advice in various media this week to also look outside their own party for candidates who are good with the farming sector. This included Louise Fresco, until recently chairman of the board of ‘agricultural university’ Wageningen and Aalt Dijkhuizen, former chairman of the Agricultural Collective in which farmers’ clubs previously worked together on nitrogen.
For Segers, these kinds of outsiders are less attractive because they cannot proclaim the typical ChristenUnie sound in the Council of Ministers, certainly not on other topics. Former party leader Leen van Dijke finds “affinity with the sector” recommended for a next minister, but warns that Staghouwer’s successor should not bend too much to the farmers. “The new minister must be strong enough to allow the sector to go through the transition that is now needed. Farmers will always resist that policy, but we have to get through it now.”
The ChristenUnie has no drivers with experience in agriculture
The ChristenUnie does not have a battery of drivers with experience in agriculture. Within the party, Andries Heidema is mentioned, the King’s Commissioner in Overijssel. Heidema studied land use science in Wageningen, but said that he had not yet been approached by Segers and that he had ‘no ambition at all in this direction’. Another frequently heard name is that of MP Pieter Grinwis, a farmer’s son who is considered talented. Grinwis, 42, has only been a Member of Parliament since last year. An outsider is top civil servant Harry Paul, who worked for many years at the Ministry of Agriculture and was also inspector-general of the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority.
Farmers see movement at cabinet after consultation with Remkes
Option Remkes
GroenLinks MP Laura Bromet suggested this week in NRC that VVD member Johan Remkes is the ideal candidate because he was already sitting around the table with the cabinet and farmers and making progress. Within the coalition parties, this option is not taken seriously at the moment. ChristenUnie-prominent people don’t think it’s a bad idea if their own party really can’t find anyone. “Remkes is a good driver, without a doubt,” says former party leader Van Dijke. Former minister Eimert van Middelkoop: „Remkes is doing excellent. He has the enormous advantage of starting to gain authority in the farmers’ organizations. And Remkes is already working on the perspective.”