Parliamentary majority rejects no-confidence motion against Asylum Minister Faber

A majority of parliamentarians in the Tweede Kamer rejected a motion of no confidence filed against Asylum Minister Marjolein Faber on Wednesday. The coalition parties continued to support the PVV politician, although she has also been criticized by VVD, NSC and BBB in recent days.

This brought an end to a tough debate for the PVV minister and Prime Minister Dick Schoof on the issue of Faber's refusal to sign off on the awarding of royal honors to volunteers who assisted asylum seekers in the Netherlands. Non-partisan Prime Minister Schoof and NSC Interior Minister Judith Uitermark indicated that they will sign the nomination.

The motion of no confidence had been expected since the opposition insisted on Tuesday on a debate about Faber's decision. While answering questions from the members in the lower house of Parliament, frustrations ran high because Faber kept repeating the same answer to questions. But Faber also kept the support of right-wing fringe parties SGP, Forum voor Democratie and JA21, though they were also critical of the way she acted.

Nearly the entire opposition voted in favor of the motion. Opposition parties found it unacceptable that she refused to approve the honors for the five volunteers. Frans Timmermans of GroenLinks-PvdA filed the motion of no confidence, also on behalf of D66, CDA, ChristenUnie, SP, Volt, PvdD and DENK.

"There is no unity of Cabinet policy," Timmermans stated before he said he no longer had confidence in the minister.

Rob Jetten of D66 said it was a "shameful display" by the Cabinet and the minister. He also found it unacceptable that Faber refused to apologize for her statement that volunteer work is at odds with her policy. He stated that the Cabinet is not speaking with one voice, pointing to a lack of unity between her statements and Schoof's.

"We cannot call this good governance or mature politics," CDA leader Henri Bontenbal said in support of his stance against the minister. Faber likely needs his party to get the Cabinet's asylum laws through the Senate, since the coalition does not have a majority there.

Nicolien van Vroonhoven of NSC indicated in the debate that she would not vote for the motion, but the party prominent said she has "her irritations" about the asylum minister's behavior.