D66 has financially compensated a former employee for mistakes made during an investigation into cross-border behavior by party prominent Frans van Drimmelen. The party also comes with a rectification and says it has “wrongly given the impression that there was no question of transgressive behavior within the party”.
The party leadership of D66 also went through the dust at the end of April and acknowledged making major mistakes in the investigation into the report of the former employee. However, no new investigation was needed, the board said.
The MeToo case came rolling in late 2020. A woman then posted a story on the internet in which she accused an important member of D66 of transgressive behaviour.
It was about party strategist Van Drimmelen. He would intimidate and manipulate women within the party. That would not only have happened to the writer of the message, but also to another D66 employee. For example, he would have wanted to help women within the party to a better place in exchange for sex or a relationship.
Party withheld cross-border behavior
D66 launched an investigation into the complaint, but concluded in an initial report that there were no indications of transgressive behaviour. However, follow-up investigation showed that the woman was still right, but that information was not released by the party.
The party states in the statement that full disclosure was not given to protect the former employee. “The bureau said: then we give away some of her privacy, and she said not,” said board member Wietske Veltman at the members’ meeting that was organized about the issue. “Primarily, of course, it was about her privacy, so there was friction there.”
D66 now says that the party should have been more open. “With the current knowledge, the current board believes that it should have been explicitly stated that there was cross-border behavior and openness should have prevailed.”
De Volkskrant found out that the party had been silent about cross-border behavior for more than a year. Van Drimmelen then left for D66. Party leader Sigrid Kaag initially maintained that she knew nothing about the abuses in her party, but follow-up research by de Volkskrant it turned out that Kaag had indeed been aware of the investigation for more than a year: for example, the victim and Kaag texted and called each other several times.
D66 says it regrets dealing with a report ‘carelessly’
D66 says it regrets that the party handled the original report of Van Drimmelen’s undesirable behavior and the BING report “carelessly”. “We believe that an appropriate arrangement has now been made that meets the interests of the former employee.”
Legal expenses she has had to make will be compensated and she will receive compensation for non-material damage she has suffered. The woman will donate a significant part of it to a foundation that works for women’s rights. The current employer of the former D66 employee also receives partial compensation for costs incurred there.
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