Lockdown shows government's Covid policy failed, opposition parties said

The opposition parties see the necessity of the partial lockdown the government imposed on the Netherlands in an attempt to bring down the skyrocketing number of daily coronavirus infections. But many feel that the fact it had come to another lockdown is due to the government's lax action over the past months.

"Today's measures are necessary," GroenLinks leader Jesse Klaver said to ANP. "But it feels terrible that we ended up here. This has everything to do with the cabinet's laissez-faire attitude, failing testing policy, and lack of central control." Laissez-faire is a French phrase that translates to 'leave us alone', and refers to a political ideology in which the government refrains from intervening in an economy.

"The cabinet has crashed into its own indecision at full speed," SP leader Lilian Marijnissen said to the news wire. "Their approach failed. Now harsh measures are inevitable. The number of infections must decrease really quickly."

PVV leader Geert Wilders told ANP that the Netherlands is paying for "the failure" of Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Health Minister Hugo deJonge. "They have made an incredible mess of it," he said. "They ignore aerogenic contamination. Hospitals were budget cut into the ground, but billions to Southern Europe."

According to PvdA leader Lodewijk Asscher, the government wasted valuable time. "I finally expect a convincing approach from the government, in the interests of our health and economy," he said to NOS.

Coalition party D66 is also critical of the cabinet. "I would have thought it strong if the Prime Minister and Minister De Jonge had shown a little more reflection and indicated: as government, we had not had testing well enough in order in recent months, and that is one of the reasons why we have now ended up in this situation," party leader Rob Jetten said to the broadcaster.