Rotterdam port fears more factory closures after gov't fall; Final Cabinet posts filled
The port of Rotterdam worries that yet another period of uncertainty caused by the fall of the Schoof I Cabinet will result in more factory closures and canceled investments, the Financieele Dagblad reports. The caretaker Cabinet has only just managed to fill the positions of the PVV members who pulled out when Geert Wilders toppled the Cabinet, and there are concerns that key issues will come to a standstill until after the new government takes office.
The new parliamentary elections will only be held on October 29th, and the Cabinet formation process that follows may again take months. That means months more with little happening with issues such as the Netherlands’ overloaded power grid, resulting in companies being unable to get a new or upgraded connection in many places in the country, and the nitrogen impasse halting construction and expansion.
This will not do the already fragile business climate any good, the port companies fear. Last month, the industrial group UPM already scrapped plans to build a refinery for biofuels in the port of Rotterdam. In January, the American chemical companies Tronox and LyondellBasell announced they were closing their factories in the court. Earlier, the Indorama plastics factory and the Gunvor refinery also closed.
Staff shortages are another problem. The previous election campaign was influenced heavily by anti-immigrant rhetoric from a range of parties, causing deep concerns among the top multinational businesses based in the Netherlands. Renewed worries emerged as the remaining coalition parties scrambled to fill Cabinet postings vacated by the far-right PVV, suggesting immigration, asylum, and social norms can again become key campaign issues ahead of the October elections. The final posts were filled on Sunday.
NSC announced MP Daniëlle Jansen will become caretaker Minister of Public Health, taking over for the resigned Fleur Agema. Hanneke Boerma will become the caretaker State Secretary for Foreign Trade, taking over the duties of the resigned Minister Reinette Klever. The party previously announced that Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp (NSC) would take over Development Aid, the other half of the portfolio Klever left behind.
The VVD pushed caretaker State Secretary Vincent Karremans (Public Health) to the Minister post of Economic Affairs. MP Judith Tielen will succeed Karremens. MP Thierry Aartsen will become the caretaker State Secretary of Infrastructure. The BBB nominated Robert Tieman for caretaker Minister of Infrastructure and Nicki Pouw-Verweij as caretaker State Secretary for Long-Term Care.
