New Housing Min. won't comment on fight to block housing construction affecting her view

Candidate Housing Minister Mona Keijzer will not comment on reports that she has fought the construction of a residential care complex opposite her home up to the highest court. Keijzer called it a “private matter” during her hearing in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament.

AD reported this week about Keijzer’s objection procedures, in which she appealed to nature and nitrogen regulations. Her own party strongly opposes those rules. The coalition agreement also states that the new government wants to limit the possibilities for objecting to housing construction.

JA21 leader Joost Eerdmans wondered out loud how credible Keijzer is now as the Housing Minister. Habtamu de Hoop (GroenLinks-PvdA) agreed with that and expressed the hope that, as Minister, Keijzer will prioritize the right to housing over the right to an unobstructed view.

Keijzer accused De Hoop of not having looked into the matter. “Immerse yourself in the file before you make this statement here.” According to her, she did not object to the construction of a residential complex for elderly people with dementia, but mainly to the fact that construction was happening on that site. “Let’s try to act a little less polarizing,” she said.

Keijzer also said that she “struggled” with the prospect of the parliamentary hearing. “It took some searching to find out exactly what the intention is.” She pointed to the rule of trust in Dutch constitutional law. “That there is trust until proven otherwise.”

Home Affairs Minister wants to quickly start democratic reforms

Candidate Minister Judith Uitermark of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations wants to quickly start the democratic reforms that the coalition has in mind. She mentioned “the abolition of the ban on constitutional review, the setting up of a constitutional court, and further development of this in good relations with the to-be-established fundamental rights committee.” The coalition wants a new committee of parliamentarians to deal with the Constitution.

“I am basically here for four years, so I just want to see results at the end of those years,” the incoming Minister said after the hearing. A constitutional amendment is needed for a constitutional court. That means that the Senate and parliament must approve the plan and again after elections, but then with a two-third majority. The latter makes it important to receive as much political support as possible. That takes time, said Uitermark, also because opinions about a constitutional court could differ.

Uitermark received questions from several MPs about tensions with the rule of law that would result from coalition plans. She said: “Change causes chafing. We will do things differently in certain areas, and we will always do them within the boundaries of the rule of law. I will monitor that.”

One of the spearheads of Utermark’s NSC is to implement democratic reforms.

Documents requested by the ANP have shown that some government officials are concerned about the prospect of the PVV government. If officials refuse to implement PVV policy, she will “start with listening” and respect their “official craftsmanship,” Uitermark answered a question from Joost Eerdmans (JA21). But there is a limit, she said. “Civil servants cannot refuse to carry out work unless they are placed in a situation of force majeure. So the policy would be contrary to the law.”

State Sec. wants to “optimize” relations with Caribbean Netherlands

“I will do everything I can to optimize the relationship between the Caribbean part of the kingdom and the Netherlands,” said Zsolt Szabó, the candidate State Secretary for Kingdom Relations and Digitalization. The coalition agreement calls this relationship valuable, and Szabó is “happy” with that wording.

Barbara Kathmann (GroenLinks-PvdA), in turn, is “incredibly happy” with Szabó’s appreciation of the words in the coalition agreement, but she also asked him to reflect on the words of the party that nominated him as State Secretary, the PVV. For example, PVV leader Geert Wilders talked about the “crooks islands” in 2008.

“At home, we always say ‘and on again,’” said Szabó. He wants to concentrate on what is in the agreement. “I think we will be in a new situation from July 2.” The new Cabinet is expected to take office that day.

During the hearing, Szabó mainly focused on his other post, Digitalization. He knows more about this because he has gained a lot of experience with it during his career, he said afterward. Szabó was the vice president at the IT services provider Capgemini when he was asked to join the Cabinet.

Szabó said he first wants to delve deeply into kingdom relations before he can say exactly what he wants to optimize. “I still have to talk to the officials within the Ministry. I also have to go to those countries. Based on that, I’ll have a good idea of what I should focus on. And where things can be improved, I will optimize them,” said the incoming State Secretary.