NSC leader Omtzigt returns from sick leave after NSC Cabinet members & MP’s quit

NSC leader Pieter Omtzigt is returning to the Tweede Kamer with immediate effect. Instead of working as a member of the lower house of Parliament, he has been at home on sick leave since September.

“He is taking the next step in his reintegration process, which he started at home in recent weeks,” the party wrote in a short press release. Nicolien van Vroonhoven took over Omtzigt’s tasks in the interim, and she will continue to handle most of the leader’s tasks for the time being.

“I look forward to getting back to work, seeing colleagues and putting my back into it during a tough week,” Omtzigt wrote on X. He plans to start again “quietly, step by step” and divide the tasks of the Tweede Kamer faction leadership with Van Vroonhoven.

That Omtzigt was again occupied with party affairs was already apparent on Tuesday. The NSC State Secretary Folkert Idsinga for Taxation and Tax Authorities policy was persuaded by Omtzigt to take up a seat in the lower house again, after he resigned in a row over his financial transparency and criticism from PVV leader Geert Wilders. The PVV is the largest party in the coalition with the NSC, VVD, and BBB.

Omtzigt was also involved from a distance in the Cabinet crisis last Friday. State Secretary Nora Achahbar for Benefits and Customs resigned amid polarization within the Cabinet, though it was rumored the Moroccan-born attorney also quit because of racist remarks made by other Cabinet members. Her resignation amid the tense atmosphere during the first Cabinet meeting after the recent rioting in Amsterdam nearly led to the collapse of the coalition.

Omtzigt’s return comes at a difficult time for NSC. In addition to two state secretaries, two Tweede Kamer members also resigned from the party this week. Rosanne Hertzberger and Femke Zeedijk announced on Tuesday that they no longer felt comfortable in the coalition due to the aftermath of the unrest in Amsterdam.

Instead of keeping their seats in Parliament as independent members, they returned their seats to the party. It is not yet known who will succeed the resigned members of Parliament.

Omtzigt reported as sick during mid-September after a lengthy period of in-fighting within the Cabinet. It was believed to be related to work-related burnout. He stepped back from office just before the debates in Parliament over the Cabinet’s planned budget for 2025, among the most important debates of the political year.

As a result, Van Vroonhoven had to take over from him. In the meantime, tensions in the coalition have risen considerably and the interim party leader has had to put out a number of political fires.

Some of Omtzigt’s fellow party members react cheerfully to his return. “It’s good to have you back, Pieter!” wrote MP Olger van Dijk on X. Isa Kahraman also welcomes him.