Schoof gives PVV State Sec last warning over “fewer Moroccans” statement

Prime Minister Dick Schoof has given PVV State Secretary Chris Jansen a final warning over his statements about “fewer Moroccans,” telling him that it was unacceptable and that he will never make such a statement again. Other Cabinet Ministers can also heed the warning, Schoof told AD from the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Earlier this week, the PVV State Secretary came under fire when he told a talk show that, as a private individual, he still supported Wilders’ controversial statement about wanting “fewer Moroccans” in the Netherlands. That was immediately met with fierce criticism from parliament, after which Jansen and Schoof both sent letters to the Tweede Kamer. Jansen admitted the statement was unacceptable as a State Secretary, but he did not distance himself from it personally.

That was absolutely unacceptable, Schoof told AD. “As a Cabinet member, you do not have private opinions,” he said. “Chris Jansen also knows that, he will not repeat it again. Chris and I agreed on that quite quickly in the telephone conversation by the way. And I admit that I did not give him much room to have a different opinion.”

“You simply do not make such statements. Wilders was convicted for this. It is simply not acceptable. Let there be no misunderstanding about that,” Schoof said. “This is not a political discussion. This is a text that everyone knows how sensitive it is. There is even a court ruling. So, no way that a member of my Cabinet makes such a statement. And so it is good that he took it back and will never say it again.”

Schoof repeated this stance to ANP when he entered the Council of Ministers on Friday. “There are some things that you simply do not say as a Minister,” the Prime Minister said.

This was not the first time Jansen repeated Wilders’ statement. During his hearing in parliament just before he became State Secretary of Infrastructure and Water Management, Jansen refused to distance himself from it. He emphasized that he still supported it.