Princess Laurentien has been causing problems for years in the Toeslagen recovery operation. Not only this year, but also in 2021, the princess came into conflict with the chairmen of the so-called child and parent panels, and clashed with officials from the Ministry of Finance. Several qualified people dropped out because they felt that there was no room left next to Laurentien, according to the documents from the NRC.
Then State Secretary Alexandra van Huffelen (Benefits, D66) was warned several times and spoke to Princess Laurentien about it. It did not help. Only a few months ago, tempers ran so high that civil servants leaked to the AD because according to them it was impossible to work with Laurentien.
This is evident from research by NRC. Princess Laurentien resigned this Wednesdayas chair of (Gelijk)waardig Herstel, a foundation that has been working on the recovery operation for a year. She decided to do so after it emerged earlier this month that civil servants had internally reported the way she was acting. Laurentien told RTL Nieuws that she did not know where the complaints came from: “I have never, in twenty years, been in trouble.”
According to the NRC investigation, that is not true. There has been a fuss about Laurentien for years, the newspaper writes.
Confidential internal documents and conversations of NRC with more than twenty directly involved parties show that Laurentien’s involvement in the Toeslagen recovery operation three years earlier also led to problems. In 2020, the Missing Chapter Foundation, another foundation of Laurentien, was commissioned by Finance to facilitate the set-up of a ‘child panel’, in which children of affected benefit parents took part – with the aim of mapping out what was needed to help these children.
Behind the scenes, things quickly went wrong. A disagreement arose about who should take the lead in communicating with the outside world: Laurentien or the ministry. The princess also demanded a major role in the substantive implementation of the child scheme. She bypassed the chair of the project, former PvdA MP Lea Bouwmeester. This is evident from the internal documents and conversations with those involved. Laurentien effectively took over the role of chair.
In 2021, Laurentien also wanted to play a leading role in informing children about the scheme. According to officials involved, this was not possible because the duty to provide information in the recovery operation lies with the government. Officials also feared that Laurentien wanted to use the children in a publicity campaign, for example by having them join a talk show, according to messages. The ministry was strongly opposed to this because of the vulnerability of the children.
Civil servants sometimes felt that the princess had treated them in a derogatory manner, as if they did not understand anything
Laurentien also allegedly had no respect for the fact that civil servants must operate according to the rules. According to those involved, the princess dismissed official objections to the feasibility of some of the wishes of victims that Laurentien brought forward as a lack of respect for the victims. Civil servants sometimes felt that they were being treated derogatorily in these conversations, as if they did not understand anything, as is evident from conversations with those involved and messages from that period.
Due to the difficult mutual relations, State Secretary Van Huffelen intervened in June 2021. From that moment on, only two civil servants were allowed to have contact with Laurentien, according to the internal documents.
State Secretary Van Huffelen had already spoken to Laurentien about the problems at that time, as can be seen from official emails. But it did not help, according to the reconstruction by NRC.
At the beginning of 2022, Laurentien also came into conflict with the so-called parent panel, which was led by Arre Zuurmond, former Ombudsman of Amsterdam.
Complaints were made about her way of operating at panel meetings
Laurentien publicly presented herself as a peacemaker between parent groups, but behind the scenes undermined the position of the parent panel, several sources say. As an example, they mention a letter with complaints about the parent panel that Laurentien’s right-hand man sent to the ministry in early 2022, without informing the parent panel. It remained unclear to the parent panel exactly what complaints were contained in it. Laurentien denies through a spokesperson that such a letter was sent.
Response Laurentien
In response to questions from NRC, Princess Laurentien stated through a spokesperson that she does not recognize herself in the situation described. She denies having spoken to State Secretary Van Huffelen about conflicts or about her working methods. According to the spokesperson, Princess Laurentien managed to gain the trust of children and young people, which led to calmer discussions about their recovery.
