Prime Minister Schoof admits he has to get used to the fierceness of politics

Prime Minister Dick Schoof has noticed after two intense debates that the fierceness of politics in The Hague "it takes some getting used to." Speaking at his regular weekly press conference, Schoof said, "When you are in the Tweede Kamer, you know that personal relationships are equally subordinate to political relations." Journalists peppered him with questions about the Cabinet's budget proposal, and the two-day debate that followed in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament.

In that debate, the opposition stood diametrically opposed to the Cabinet, and the contradictions within the governing coalition also became apparent. Schoof received harsh criticism from the opposition, for example, when D66 leader Rob Jetten questioned how Schoof performed his duties as prime minister. Schoof responded strongly and felt that he had to draw the line.

"In politics, a stricter distinction is made between the personal and the formal meeting, where the personal is no longer an issue and the political battle simply takes place. With all the means that everyone there finds permissible for themselves." Schoof does not necessarily like that, he said, but he can handle it.

Schoof was extremely surprised that the interim leader of coalition party NSC, Nicolien van Vroonhoven, joined the opposition in requesting the documents regarding the advice on the emergency asylum law. "But well, everyone makes their own assessment," the prime minister added in his weekly press conference.

After the opposition's insistence, Van Vroonhoven pointed to article 68 of the Constitution, which states that every member of the Tweede Kamer can request documents from the Cabinet. However, because there was a majority with the support of the NSC, the opposition saw it as a victory. The documents went to the Tweede Kamer, and a considerable part of the debate was dominated by legal advice. Civil servants see absolutely no arguments for or justification for the emergency law.

However, ministers were surprised and annoyed that Schoof sent the documents to the Tweede Kamer after he was asked to do so, even though, at first, they had sent heavily redacted documents. The document contained information that was not related to the emergency law but was still sensitive. For example, it stated that Schoof himself insisted on having the route of the emergency law recorded in the government program. Civil servants also expressed other legal concerns about the Cabinet's asylum measures.

Minister of Justice David van Weel was visibly annoyed when Schoof announced that he would share the unredacted version of the documents. He threw his hands in the air out of amazement. Schoof recognized during the press conference that sending documents regarding a decision that has not been made yet is very unusual. He called it "unique" before not ruling out that it would ever happen again. "Never say never."

Incidentally, Schoof was not asked about Van Vroonhoven's action but about Geert Wilders' attitude. The PVV leader made it clear that he wants to stick to the emergency law as a way to relax asylum rules. According to Schoof, that is not a dealbreaker. He understands that Wilders is taking his own position. "That is why he is in the Tweede Kamer."

The prime minister added that he is not a fan of night-time debates. "That really should come to an end," he said.