Good morning and welcome to this live blog! The House of Representatives is debating the fall of the cabinet today, and the political editors will keep you informed in this live blog.
5 minutes ago
Schoof reiterates in statement: fall of cabinet ‘unnecessary and irresponsible’Schoof takes the floor. He first summarizes what he did yesterday. “Let me be clear: the fall of the cabinet was, as far as I am concerned, unnecessary and irresponsible.” According to him, decisiveness is required more than ever, given the situation in the world. So far, his statement seems very similar to the statement he gave to the press yesterday.
10 minutes ago
In addition to Schoof, Deputy Prime Ministers Sophie Hermans (VVD), Eddy van Hijum (NSC) and Mona Keijzer (BBB) are also present on behalf of the caretaker cabinet. No Deputy Prime Minister is present on behalf of PVV, because the caretaker cabinet continues without the PVV wing.
14 minutes ago
After Schoof, the debate begins in the House. All parties have sent their group chairmen, which is customary in this type of debate. Timmermans will kick things off.
22 minutes ago
Schoof will first take the floorThe day in the House of Representatives will start at 10:15 AM with the appointment of the new VVD Member of Parliament Simone Richardson. She succeeds Roelien Kamminga, who said goodbye yesterday amidst all the political turmoil. She will become mayor in Groningen.
After Richardson’s appointment, caretaker Prime Minister Schoof will give a brief statement on the fall of the cabinet.
49 minutes ago
Schoof already called cabinet fall ‘unnecessary and irresponsible’Schoof had already informed the coalition parties several times before the fall of the cabinet that he considered it “unnecessary and irresponsible” to let the cabinet fall. He said this yesterday in a short press conference.
He also repeated those words after the fall of the cabinet. At the moment, too much is at stake at home and abroad to let the cabinet fall, according to the non-partisan Schoof. He refers to, among other things, international developments, migration and concerns among farmers.
1 hour ago
After the center of power, the sidelines beckon again for WildersThe Dutch political landscape was shaken up considerably when the PVV overwhelmingly won the elections in November 2023. More than a year and a half later, new elections are already planned and The Hague has still not fully recovered. Read more here.
1 hour ago
The House will mainly look back on what happened in today’s debate, but for readers who want to look ahead: in this article we explain what the coming period will look like now that the cabinet has fallen.
1 hour ago
House in debate todayAs usual after a cabinet fall, the House will debate this today. The debate will begin at 10:25 AM with a statement by caretaker Prime Minister Dick Schoof. After that, the first word will be given to the applicant of the debate: GL-PvdA leader Frans Timmermans.
In this article we further explain what you can expect today.
1 hour ago
VVD, NSC and BBB furious at PVVUnnecessary and irresponsible: those words were often used yesterday. Not only by the opposition parties, but also by Wilders’ former coalition partners. They were furious that the PVV leader pulled the plug on the coalition.
VVD, NSC and BBB indicated that they also wanted stricter asylum measures and to give Wilders the space to work out his plans. Incidentally, it is doubtful that all his plans are feasible: experts have often said that, for example, the desired asylum stop is not legally possible.
1 hour ago
In short: what happened?The direct cause of the cabinet’s fall was actually last week, when PVV leader Geert Wilders presented his so-called ten-point plan. Wilders wanted to take immediate extra asylum measures and wanted a signature from his coalition partners VVD, NSC and BBB for this.
They did not agree to this: they also want stricter asylum measures, but Wilders can simply work them out himself and submit them via the normal route (i.e. via the House). It was reason for Wilders to blow up the coalition yesterday morning, after which the now caretaker Prime Minister Dick Schoof offered the resignation of his cabinet to the King that afternoon.