De Grave this afternoon sent a letter to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense announcing his departure. According to De Grave it is ‘no longer possible’ to give substance to my presidency in a responsible manner.
No trust
He says that “in the end it is irrelevant what I think of the argumentation in the debate about independence, objectivity and integrity. What counts for me is the fact that a very substantial part of the House of Representatives has no confidence in my presidency from the outset.” .”
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Unavoidable
“De Grave’s resignation was inevitable,” says political reporter Fons Lambie. “Due to the resistance and doubts of the opposition, the investigation was already damaged before it even started. The cabinet was very chagrin about this attitude of the opposition.”
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From left to right
In the Netherlands, investigative committees are more often led by former ministers, but the resistance against De Grave was particularly fierce. A motion by the PvdA received the support of all opposition parties, from left to right: PVV, PvdA, SP, GL, FvD, PvdD, JA21, SGP, VOLT, DENK, Groep-Van Haga, Omtzigt, Den Haan, BBB and BIJ1 .
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PvdA MP Kati Piri said that ‘a former defense minister and prominent VVD member, who specifically has to scrutinize the actions of party members, seems against it’. The outgoing cabinet had chosen De Grave precisely because of his many years of experience and the ministry of twenty years ago.
De Grave was a member of parliament for the VVD from 1982 to 1991, alderman for Finance in Amsterdam, State Secretary for Social Affairs in the first Purple Cabinet and from 1998 to 2002 was himself Minister of Defense. He has been a member of the Council of State since 2018.
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Chaos in Afghanistan
The Afghanistan investigation was initiated at the request of the House of Representatives. He wants to know why the Netherlands has waited far too long with the evacuation. As a result, at least thousands of people have been left behind in Afghanistan. Due to the lack of preparation and the mistakes surrounding the Afghanistan evacuation, two ministers have already resigned. Sigrid Kaag (Foreign Affairs) left in September, after feverish consultations, Ank Bijleveld (Defence) resigned a day later.
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