Will the Dutch Cabinet Survive? Discussion on the Family Reunification Restriction and Threats of Cabinet Collapse

06 July 2023

Will the cabinet make it to the end of the evening? Rutte is on a collision course with D66 and ChristenUnie over the restriction of family reunification of asylum seekers and threatens with a fall of the cabinet. In Op1 we discuss it with political commentator Wouter de Winther, former CDA state secretary Mona Keijzer, professor of constitutional and administrative law Wim Voermans and Ferry van Wijnen of the party committee Asylum and Migration VVD.

Is the cabinet crisis as big as everyone says and writes? “I think that after today you can conclude, even after speaking to the people behind the scenes, that the cabinet is on the verge of collapse,” responds political commentator Wouter de Winther.

“No one will be surprised if you do not see ministers answer the question immediately whether the cabinet is still there today or tomorrow.” Nevertheless, De Winther sees that they are looking for a compromise in The Hague. “I heard from all sides, from all parties, that an ultimate attempt is being made to get out.”

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Rutte tough

Former CDA State Secretary Mona Keijzer finds it unbelievable that the coalition is now in this situation. “Just before the summer holidays, while this has been going on for years. People have been drowning in the Mediterranean for years. For years we have seen that asylum seekers’ centers are filling up. And now we are just before the holidays, and Rutte is going to act tough.”

Keijzer would have preferred that Rutte had adjusted the regulations years ago. “To ensure that the Christmas tree of laws and regulations that is here, which makes it so tempting to get on board, to do something about it. And everything you agree on about this now, without doing anything about the European rules, will eventually fail.”

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Cabinet crisis worth

“I am also a member of the city council,” says Ferry van Wijnen. “In the municipality (Zuidplas, ed.) The water is beyond the lips at the moment. Financially it is no longer possible and the implementation is no longer possible. I live in a growing municipality and the eighth grade is in the hallway, because the schools are too small. If we bring asylum children here with very good decency, those asylum children will really not benefit. If we want a humane asylum policy, we must ensure that it is manageable for municipalities.”

Ferry van Wijnen of the Asylum and Migration VVD party committee wants Rutte to stand firm. “As far as we are concerned, it is worth a cabinet crisis. Because if we keep muddling through, we won’t get there anyway. Action must be taken now.”

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Party leader CDA

If the cabinet were to fall, who would become the new leader of the CDA in Mona Keijzer’s eyes? “That could definitely be Wopke Hoekstra, but I don’t even know if he wants to. When you look at this, who else wants this?”

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