PVV Minister hired a private spokesperson to steer communication about bankruptcy

Minister Dirk Beljaarts of Economic Affairs has hired a private spokesperson to steer and manage communications surrounding a bankruptcy he was involved in. The PVV Minister is paying the spokesperson out of his own pocket, the Ministry and the spokesperson involved, Kay van de Linde, confirmed to BNR.

For Beljaarts, Van der Linde’s only job is to communicate about the bankruptcy of KHN Rekenwerk, an accountancy service of which Beljaarts was a director. FD discovered that customers lost hundreds of thousands of euros when Beljaarts’ company went under. There are also rumors of fraudulent conduct within the KHN Rekenwerk board.

Spokespersons for the Ministry of Economic Affairs do not answer questions about KHN Rekenwerk. A ministerial spokesperson told BNR that this decision was made “in good consultation” with Beljaarts because the bankruptcy “happened before Mr. Beljaarts took office as a Minister in this Cabinet and this is not related to the exercise of his office.”

However, according to BNR, other Cabinet members have received assistance from civil servants in similar private matters. For example, civil servants spoke for State Secretary Vicky Maeijer (PVV) when she was in disrepute because of copied texts in her master’s thesis last year. And State Secretary Raymond Knops (CDA) received similar support in 2020 when NRC reported critically on a land deal in which he was involved.

Beljaarts decision to outsource his spokesperson duties also means that communications between him and this spokesperson do not fall under the Open Government Act, which makes them confidential in principle. However, according to public administration professor Paul ‘t Hart, Beljaarts may still have to answer to parliament for statements made by Van der Linde.

Albertjan Tollenaar, a professor of local government and law, thinks that outsourcing this spokesperson is a risky move, especially due to the possibility of criminal behavior in the bankruptcy case. “The line between personal and public is not so easy to draw,” he told BNR. “This would keep me up at night if I were Dick Schoof.”