Massive criticism of Faber in debate on asylum volunteers; Schoof summoned to attend
Opposition parties massively criticized Asylum Minister Marjolein Faber (PVV) in a parliamentary debate on her refusing to sign off on Royal awards for asylum volunteers, with several MPs accusing her of single-handedly threatening the unity of the Cabinet. The opposition also insisted on having Prime Minister Dick Schoof at the debate, after he had initially decided to leave Faber to defend herself, NOS reports.
This issue arose when Faber refused to sign off on Royal medals for five former volunteers who helped with the shelter of asylum seekers for the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA). The Minister’s signature is usually a formality. Schoof himself and Minister Judith Uitermark of Home Affairs (NSC) eventually signed off on the medals.
That raised concerns about the unity of the Cabinet. That needs to be restored, GroenLinks-PvdA leader Frans Timmermans said in the debate. He made three demands: Faber must apologize, she must sign off on the nominations, and she must agree to sign all such nominations in the future. “That is the only way to restore the unity of Cabinet policy,” he said. The leader of the largest opposition party also wants Prime Minister Schoof to condemn Faber’s behavior.
PVV leader Geert Wilders immediately jumped ot the defense of the PVV Minister. According to Widlers, Fabers didn’t do anything strange at all. “The Minister is allowed to refuse a medal. It is a normal procedure, which is not often applied, but it does exist.” He spoke of a “nonsense debate,” said Faber deserves support for showing more backbone than Timmermans “has shown in 100 years,” and that Faber herself deserves a Royal medal.
Both D66 leader Rob Jetten and ChristenUnie leader Mirjam Biker accused Faber of violating the unity of Cabinet policy time and again. “It is high time that you leave,” Jetten said. Several parties had threatened to bring a motion of no confidence against her. Bikker said that the “time for tolerance is over.” And CDA leader Henri Botenbal added that today’s debate would show “what the Cabinet’s standard is and who sets that standard.”
Caroline van der Plas, leader of coalition party BBB - often considered a yes-man to Wilders’ PVV, accused the opposition of threatening to topple the entire Cabinet by demanding Faber’s departure. The opposition is “even prepared to bring this country to a complete standstill in the coming period,” she said. “While so much needs to be resolved.”
The debate started on Wednesday morning with an hours-long suspension as the opposition parties demanded that Schoof attend the debate. According to them, the unity of Cabinet policy is at stake, and that is absolutely the Prime Minister’s responsibility. The debate was resumed when Schoof agreed to come.
The controversy over the Royal medals issue arose over the weekend, when Faber refused to sign off on the nominations. The nominations went to her because the COA is her Ministry’s implementing agency. Faber said she refused to sign because honoring volunteers in asylum reception does not fit with her policy of admitting far fewer asylum seekers to the Netherlands.
During the weekly question time on Tuesday, Faber said it was fine that Schoof and Uitermark had signed on her behalf, but she stuck to her position that she would not sign the nominations herself. She also refused to apologize for the unrest she caused, as opposition parties had asked her to do.
After consultation with Schoof and the coalition later on Tuesday, Faber sent a short note to parliament last night in which she said that she “100 percent supported” the nominations. She said she regretted putting so much emphasis on why she did not sign and not enough on being okay with Schoof and Uitermark signing on her behalf.
According to sources in and around the Cabinet, Faber is on very shaky ground.
