Until the last moment, Khadija Arib tried to stop the investigation into her actions as Speaker of the House. In vain, it appears on Tuesday. This comes shortly before the elections, and before the departure of current Chamber President Vera Bergkamp, who also emerged damaged from the affair.
What was the case about again?
Last September it was leaked that the Presidium, the executive board of the House of Representatives, had opened an investigation into Arib. Complaints had been received about inappropriate behavior during her time as Speaker of the House. In two anonymous letters she was accused, among other things, of ‘abuse of power’.
Arib immediately reacted angrily to her successor Bergkamp, who chairs the presidency. Arib spoke of a ‘stabbing’ by her successor, who had thrown her ‘under the bus’. Soon after the accusations came out, the former popular Speaker of the House decided to resign as a Member of Parliament, after a political career of 24 years.
The crisis became complete when, following Arib, the top officials of the House also resigned. The highest official of the House, clerk Simone Roos, announced that she was stepping down due to all the unrest. She concluded that it was ‘no longer possible’ to create a socially safe working environment.
What about that research?
After a number of chaotic meetings, the House decided not to conduct the investigation itself, but to entrust it to an external party: Hoffmann Bedrijfsrecherche, which is supervised by three professors. The assignment is to look not only at the anonymous letters about Arib, but also more broadly at the departed top officials, the presidium and Bergkamp.
Why is Arib trying to stop the investigation?
On the TV program Zomergasten, Arib said in August that she still does not know what exactly she is accused of. She demanded access to all documents. The researchers responded that Arib could view all documents, including the anonymous letters, on location. Arib says that she wants to get her hands on the documents herself, so that she can view them with her lawyers Geert-Jan and Carry Knoops. At the end of August she started civil proceedings to stop the publication. Because that case will not be heard until November, she asked the House of Representatives in a letter last week to stop the publication of the investigation. She once again made fierce accusations against Bergkamp, whom she accused of ‘playing procedural games’ and ‘improper and inappropriate actions’.
What consequences could the research have?
That is the question. The main characters have left or are about to. Arib has been away for a year, Bergkamp announced this summer that she will not return as a Member of Parliament. Under Bergkamp’s difficult chairmanship, debates were often chaotic, with the walkout of the entire cabinet during last year’s General Discussions being the low point. In her farewell letter, Bergkamp said that she is pleased that social safety has been higher on the agenda since her presidency. She calls it important that complaints from civil servants about an unsafe working atmosphere are taken seriously. “In the event of serious signals, this should, as in any organization, lead to an independent investigation.”
Many parties, including Pieter Omtzigt’s NSC, have improved administrative culture high on their agenda. The Arib affair and the investigation may help to learn lessons for the future.
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Hierarchy in the House is a catalyst for transgressive behavior
There is a considerable lack of social security in the House of Representatives. And that is harmful to the appearance and functioning of democracy, researchers believe.
2023-10-30 17:02:47
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