Cabinet member says she resigned over harsh polarization, not racism
Nora Achahbar (NSC) resigned as State Secretary on Friday over the polarizing forms of interaction between politicians, not due to racism, she said in an interview with Hart van Nederland. She wouldn’t comment on terms like “f***ing Moroccans” allegedly used by Cabinet members during a Council of Ministers meeting last week Monday to discuss riots in Amsterdam after the Ajax vs Maccabi Tel Aviv match earlier this month.
The former State Secretary said she resigned because of how polarizing politicians were treating each other. “By that, I mean the fierceness within the Council of Ministers, but also in particular what Ministers and members of parliament say to the outside world.” She did not give specific examples.
Achahbar explicitly denied that she resigned because of racist statements, but did not explicitly say that no racist statements were made. “I read bizarre statements that are not correct. I did not leave because of racism,” she said. “The accusations and leaks to the press undermine confidence in the government. It also damages individuals.”
The NSC politician wouldn’t comment to Hart van Nederland about a statement about “shitty Moroccans” that was allegedly made in the Cabinet after the Amsterdam riots. “I don’t want to go into specific words, then I’ll give it oxygen. I can only say that I was astonished by the reporting.”
Achahbar also said that rumors about racist statements by Finance Minister Eelco Heinen (VVD) did not come from her. Sources told the media that Heinen compared the perpetrators of the Amsterdam riots to a pimple that had to be squeezed out, although there are different versions of what was said. Achahbar, who worked under Heinen as State Secretary for Allowances and Customs, said she parted ways with the Minister on good terms on Friday and doesn’t know where suggestions of a difficult relationship came from.
The interview with Hart van Nederland is the first time Achahbar has responded to questions from the press since Friday. Her resignation sparked a crisis in the Cabinet because other NSC Ministers and State Secretaries also considered resigning. Ultimately, a Cabinet collapse was averted after hours of consultation at the Catshuis, the Prime Minister’s official residence in The Hague.
On Tuesday, NSC parliamentarians Rosanne Hertzberger and Femke Zeedijk resigned from parliament, citing unrest in the Cabinet last week following riots in Amsterdam. Both also mentioned Achahbar’s resignation. Zeedijk said that the departure of Achahbar, who has Moroccan roots, created the image that “someone with that background is not welcome.” She could not abide by that.
