Prominent NSC member resigns over new Cabinet ministers' values and beliefs
NSC member and University of Twente lecturer Ronald Voorn announced his resignation as the leader of the party's science think tank. Voorn specifically noted his objections to several Cabinet members set to take office next week, thanks in part to his party's coalition deal with the far-right PVV, and right-wing parties NSC and VVD.
The new Cabinet is expected to be installed on Tuesday. Voorn said he will leave his job on Sunday. "The reason for this is that the behavior of a number of candidate ministers in the past is directly contrary to the values and democratic ethos that I want to support," he wrote on X. "Wishing my party safe sailing in the turbulent sea that is on its way." Hours later he restricted access to messages posted to his account.
He did not mention any specific candidate ministers by name, but several were in the news during confirmation hearings last week and this week for their past support of the Great Replacement conspiracy theory. The extreme right white nationalist idea suggests that Western nations are being infiltrated by people of diverse ethnic, racial, religious and cultural backgrounds, with the purpose of replacing the white population.
PVV MP Marjolein Faber is set to take a seat on the Cabinet as the Minister of Asylum and Migration. While she backed down from her years of support for the theory, she also said during her confirmation hearing, "The fact is that the demography of the Netherlands is changing. It is very legitimate to be very concerned about this. I am too."
She was criticized by opposition parties, who said she clearly still believed in the conspiracy theory, but was simply restating her position in different terms. She would not answer a question asking pointedly if she believed "mass immigration has led to the dilution of European and Judeo-Christian culture."
"I won't say anything for now," Voorn wrote on X on Monday after Faber's hearing.
Another PVV MP, Reinette Klever, is set to become the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Aid. She would not fully distance herself from the replacement theory, though she did say she did not think there was a "repopulation" conspiracy. "These are not my words, but I do not distance myself from them either," she said during her own hearing. She was not only criticized by opposition parties, but also by members of the VVD.
However, the NSC politician set to become the next foreign minister did not rebuke Klever. Casper Veldkamp only said that he expects all of the Cabinet members to stick to agreements about respecting the Dutch Constitution and the democratic rule of law. NSC party leader Pieter Omtzigt also stayed quiet. "While Pieter Omtzigt promised 'not to remain silent,' his NSC minister watches passively as a Nazi theory is made normal," said D66 party leader Rob Jetten.
Then on Wednesday, it became clear that organizers of the national slavery abolition ceremony scheduled for Monday no longer wanted Parliament chair Martin Bosma to attend. The PVV politician was highly critical of the Dutch Cabinet and King Willem-Alexander apologizing for the country's ties to the slave trade. He has also made several racially insensitive remarks in the past.
PVV leader Geert Wilders complained on X, threatening, "I would otherwise like to go to Amsterdam on Monday and give a speech there. They will start to long for our Chairman."
"This man really needs help. This is not normal," Voorn wrote in response. When another individual pointed out that Voorn's party was forming a coalition with Wilders, Voorn replied, "Incomprensible."
NSC had announced last fall that Voorn was going to head up the party's scientific think tank to help develop the party's policies. "It was a special honor and pleasure to work on this assignment and I am grateful for the many kind, knowledgeable, passionate and inspiring people I have met at NSC and in politics," Voorn said on Friday.
In response to Voorn's resignation, Omtzigt said, "Too bad, Ronald. With respect for your decision, NSC and I thank you for the pleasant cooperation, and for the development of ideas for the Netherlands."
