Education Minister apologizes for rainbow crosswalk tweet after swearing in

The newly elected Minister of Education, Gouke Moes, has apologized for a tweet he had previously posted about a rainbow crosswalk. He was sworn in as a caretaker minister on Friday morning and offered his apology ahead of the start of the ministerial council. In recent days, the tweet had caused a stir because his portfolio at the ministry also includes emancipation.

Last year, he responded to a vandalism incident involving swastikas on a rainbow crosswalk. “This is how polarization works. It’s a shame, a shame on both sides. On the side that decided such a rainbow crosswalk should be installed, completely ignoring (and perhaps even provoking) the experiences of many young people, and on the side that responds with swastikas,” he tweeted.

The tweet caused a lot of uproar at the time. “I shouldn’t have done it that way,” he said on Friday about the tweet. “And I fully understand that some people found it provocative and hurtful. Of course, it’s proper to apologize in that case, and here I am doing just that.” He described the growing anti-LBGTQ+ sentiment as a “very worrying development.”

The new members of the caretaker cabinet were sworn in by the king on Friday morning. Six ministerial posts and five state secretaries became available following the surprising departure of the NSC faction from the already fallen cabinet last month.

This resulted in eight new ministers in the cabinet of the remaining coalition partners, VVD and BBB. Additionally, there were two reshuffles: Minister David van Weel moved from Justice to Foreign Affairs, and State Secretary Mariëlle Paul from Education became Minister of Social Affairs.

Sandra Palmen returned to the Ministry of Finance, where she remains responsible for Benefits. She previously served in the cabinet for the NSC, which she left along with her party. She said earlier that “all parties involved made a strong appeal for me to continue my work as state secretary.” She has resigned her NSC membership.

The vacant cabinet posts had been temporarily filled by other cabinet members following the unique step taken by the NSC.

Shortly after the swearing-in, the new ministers attended their first ministerial council. Arno Rutte (VVD), the new State Secretary for Legal Protection, said, “It is currently a very special political situation, where things must be arranged properly in a short period. I thought: I dare to take on that responsibility.”

Frank Rijkaart, who left his position as BBB provincial executive in Zuid-Holland to become caretaker Minister of the Interior said that this is a "beautiful, challenging task.” And that “the country is calling."