Ethnically diverse people felt disregarded after Amsterdam riots, NSC Deputy PM says

Words matter, that is the conclusion that NSC Deputy Prime Minister Eddy van Hijum (Social Affairs) drew from the riots in Amsterdam, the political reactions to them, and the resulting crisis in the coalition.

“People with a migration background sometimes feel put in a corner where they do not want to belong. I think that we should pay serious attention to that in our approach,” Van Hijum said on Friday as he entered the Council of Ministers. “Yes, the Jewish community deserves protection, better than we provided in recent years. But that must not lead to other people feeling unsafe.”

The rough relationships within the Cabinet led to the resignation of State Secretary Nora Achahbar and MPs Rosanne Hertzberger and Femke Zeedijk, all from Van Hijum’s NSC. “It’s about the way in which we talk about problems. You have to be able to identify the causes, you have to be able to identify where we need to draw a line together,” said the Deputy Prime Minister. “But let us also try to find the connection, to counteract the polarization. That is also what Nora Achahbar indicated in her statement.”

Zeedijk said upon her departure that she missed self-reflection in the Cabinet about the fact that Nora Achahbar was the only Moroccan-Dutch woman in the Cabinet. That “paints the picture as if someone with that background was not welcome or would not be able to function in this team,” the former MP said.

Deupryt Prime Ministers Fleur Agema (PVV) and Mona Keijzer (BBB) did not feel the need to reflect on this criticism before the Council of Ministers. Keijzer said she found Zeedijk and Hertzberger’s words upon their departure “inappropriate,” but left it at that. Agema said she regretted Achahbar’s departure but refused to respond to questions about how Cabinet members treated each other during meetings. “I cannot tell you anything about the Council of Ministers, because it is secret,” she said.