Government officials concerned about ability to work together with politicians

The top officials of all twelve Dutch Ministries are very concerned about civil servants and the political leadership of the country’s ability to keep working together. They see “an increased tension” between civil servants and politicians, NRC reports based on documents in its possession, and conversations with insiders.

“My colleagues and I see an increased political-civil servant tension,” Gert-Jan Buitendijk - the most senior civil servant for Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s Ministry of General Affairs - recently said on the intranet of the General Administrative Service (ABD). This organization represents the interest of over 1,700 civil servants.

Tensions between civil servants and politicians spiked again when the top officials of the Tweede Kamer resigned on November 11 last year. They blamed political interference with the civil service around the Khadija Arib case. Arib is currently being investigated for possible transgressive behavior toward civil servants in her time as President of the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament (2016-2021).

Civil servants felt let down by politicians in the period after the allegations against Arib were revealed. In her letter of resignation, Simone Roos - the highest civil servant of the Tweede Kamer organization - called it “unacceptable” that politicians dragged civil servants by name into the public debate while they could not defend themselves. Despite her “urgent requests,” the political leadership of the Kamer did not defend civil servants against this, she said.

Four days after the top officials of the Tweede Kamer resigned, on November 15, a group of 50 civil servants sent a letter to Buitendijk, Rutte, and the ABD. “We see this as a very courageous attempt to stand up for their people and a very strong signal to politicians that civil servants should not be used by politicians,” the authors wrote. “Civil servants must be able to do their job without running the risk of being drawn into the political debate. Cooperation with politicians must be “focused on effective policy and not just political profiling.”

On Wednesday, a meeting will take place between the civil servants, Prime Minister Mark Rutte, and Minister Hanke Bruins Slot of Home Affairs to discuss the increased tensions.