How about that? Due to an exception rule, ministers from the ‘old’ cabinet, such as outgoing Prime Minister Rutte himself, may be members of parliament at the same time. This applies as long as the formation lasts.
This rule has existed for decades and is mainly for practical reasons: members of parliament who have resigned must be able to participate in the new elections as Members of Parliament.
But in the case of the appointments of Wiersma, Weyenberg and Yesilgöz-Zegerius, an unconstitutional situation has arisen, the constitutional experts say. The three ministers were not members of the resigned cabinet before the elections. The exception rule, which applies to MPs Rutte and Kaag, for example, is not intended for them.
In other words: according to the experts, the cabinet has acted against the rules of the Constitution. “The exception rule is there especially for the elections. But such rules are there for a reason,” says professor of constitutional law Wim Voermans.
‘Constitutional rules tacitly stretched’
According to Bert van den Braak, endowed professor of parliamentary history, the outgoing cabinet has tacitly stretched the constitutional rules with the three appointments. And that, he says, does not benefit the credibility of the government. “We as citizens also have to comply with all kinds of laws. That also applies to the cabinet,” says Van den Braak.
He also sees another problem. “It is a precedent. Every cabinet could then appoint all kinds of MPs as ministers after the elections, while that is not allowed.”
The big question now is whether the caretaker cabinet and caretaker Prime Minister Rutte have knowingly acted against the provisions of the Constitution. For example, has legal advice been requested from the Council of State? Or does the government believe that the exception rule applies here? Inquiries with the Government Information Service did not lead to an answer today.
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