The storm surrounding the investigation into former Speaker of the House Khadija Arib has calmed down somewhat. In the House, most parties agree that a secure workplace is once again the most important thing for the more than 600 House officials. The issue should no longer be the subject of political debate.
“First of all, I would like to express my appreciation to all the employees who support us day and night. We cannot do our work without them,” said GroenLinks MP Laura Bromet during a meeting where the House discussed the ‘investigation.
“Aside from that, I don’t want to waste many words on it.”
This feeling was emphasized by most parties. SGP leader Kees van der Staaij, who chaired the meeting, indicated ahead of time that there should be “a good conversation” about the investigation. “I don’t want to waste too much time in procedural disputes,” says Van der Staaij.
Attempts by PVV member Gidi Markuszower to drop the discussion on the functioning and retention of current House Speaker Vera Bergkamp were suppressed by Van der Staaij with the approval of the other MPs.
In the end Bergkamp was satisfied with how the conversation had gone. “It was constructive and on substance.”
Research long topic of political debate
Since NRC extension reported in late September that an investigation had been launched into PvdA member Arib’s alleged transgressive behavior in his years as Speaker of the House of Representatives (2016-2021), the matter was widely publicized.
“The media attention for civil servants has really affected them,” Bergkamp said on Wednesday. Earlier he spoke of “plots”.
The official summit left last week over dissatisfaction with the state of affairs. An unprecedented step. Simone Roos, as of Friday the highest official in the House of Representatives, wrote an alarming letter about it.
“In my view, the riots are largely politically motivated and directed, in which part of the media and a number of scientists also appear to be involved,” Roos said.
Bergkamp hopes that replacements will be found for the resigned management in the short term.
Wednesday’s meeting is in stark contrast to the House’s earlier discussion of the inquiry. The debate then continued in an extremely chaotic manner, finally, against Bergkamp’s wishes, a vote was taken to stop the investigation.
SP and PVV, among others, do not think it right for MPs to investigate each other. There were also concerns about the research design.
The House does not want to make the issue political
But the investigations continue confirmed Bergkamp on Monday on behalf of the House’s daily political leadership, the presidium.
The signals about Arib – there is talk of a “reign of terror” – are too serious, too concrete and not isolated, according to Bergkamp. As an employer, the House of Representatives also has a duty to provide a safe workplace.
Arib sees the probe as a political deal and angrily left the House after 24 years. He doesn’t want to participate in the investigation.
Yesterday has become clear that the Chamber does not want to make the matter political and that the Presidium can continue the investigation. Only the PVV, the Van Haga group and the FVD wanted to discuss it openly.
It works in the House that the most senior official is the employer of House officials. The presidium oversees this.
Bergkamp wants to see if the reporting procedure can be improved
There are still many questions about the research. Can the Chamber investigate a member of Parliament? Who is the employer now? Bergkamp stressed that neither the presidium nor senior officials are. “A Member of Parliament works without burdens and has no employer,” Bergkamp wrote on Monday.
The Party for the Animals, SP and PvdA say they are launching the investigation more broadly than just the basis of two anonymous letters with complaints about Arib, as is currently the case.
But Bergkamp didn’t want to “mix things up”. In his words, there is “a fence” around those complaints and they are treated separately. However, he promised a follow-up study to see if, and if so, what could be improved in future reports and signals about an unsafe workplace.
Those investigations will not follow until completed on Arib.
