Former Finance Minister Criticizes Short-Sighted Political Promises and Cabinet Expenditures

According to former Finance Minister Onno Ruding, it is the “short-sighted politicians” who promise that everyone will improve. Ruding believes that the political parties that do that are promising something that it is not yet certain that they can deliver. “You shouldn’t do that,” he says at Sven op 1 on NPO Radio 1.

With elections looming, parties often promise in their campaigns that they will address household financial concerns and promise improvement. “They always try to create a favorable image,” says Ruding. “But you can never say this exactly in advance. There will always be people who will lose out.”

Poverty Reduction

Ruding supports the poverty reduction of the outgoing cabinet, which has earmarked 2 billion euros for this purpose. “I understand very well that it is justified to allocate a medium amount to the purchasing power repair for the lowest incomes. I support that.”

The CDA prominent has a comment: “The precise interpretation is not yet clear and I have hesitations about that if it is accompanied by tax increases.”

Criticism of cabinet

“I am very concerned about the long-term budgetary situation,” the former minister continues. “It is not good and this outgoing cabinet is guilty of that.”

Ruding believes that the cabinet has made “irresponsibly large expenditures”. As an example, the former finance minister cites the “ostrich policy on interest rates and the assumption that interest rates will remain zero for many years”. That while the government still has a large national debt to pay off.

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In addition, CDA celebrity calls supporting “noble goals” such as the climate “a leap in the dark”, since “it is not well defined what you want to spend the money on”. It is now stuck on that point, because the cabinet is outgoing. “That creates great uncertainty and is a major problem for Jetten (outgoing minister of Climate and Energy, ed.), but they have created that themselves in this coalition agreement.”

Ruding is not done with his criticism. He thinks it is “not budgetary responsible” if the cabinet continues with the current nitrogen and climate funds. “I have always been hesitant about the huge amount for those funds.”

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Door: Vick ten Wolde

2023-08-31 11:05:00
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