Remaining coalition parties will divide the NSC's Cabinet posts by Wednesday

The distribution of the Cabinet positions vacated by the departure of the NSC will be finalized by Wednesday, when parliament debates the resulting political situation. The NSC pulled out of the Cabinet on Friday after Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp resigned because he could not convince the VVD and BBB to take more steps against Israel. As the remaining parties in the caretaker Cabinet, the VVD and BBB must fill nine positions.

“My commitment is entirely focused on that. We must move forward as quickly as possible,” BBB leader Caroline van der Plas said on the television program Café Kockelmamm on Sunday evening. She said she has enough people to fill the positions.

VVD Minister Ruben Brekelmans (Defense and, temporarily, Foreign Affairs) said on the program that it must be “clear by Wednesday how we want to proceed constructively.” He added that he would prefer to remain at the Ministry of Defense.

Over the weekend, nonpartisan Prime Minister Dick Schoof and the leaders of the VVD and BBB held consultations. Schoof will speak with the Deputy Prime Ministers about the vacant Cabinet positions on Monday, Brekelmans said. According to him, the new Cabinet members will not be announced on Wednesday. “The names always take a bit more time because of the screening and things like that. And I sense a lot of willingness on both sides.”

The NSC withdrew from the Cabinet on Friday shortly after NSC Minister Caspar Veldkamp (Foreign Affairs) resigned. He could not convince the remaining two parties to take more measures against Israel over the situation in Gaza. “I see that I cannot take sufficiently meaningful additional measures” to increase the pressure on Israel, Veldkamp said when announcing his resignation. He said he felt limited in his scope “to implement my own policy, to chart the course I deem necessary.”

According to Brekelmans and Van der Plas, this step was unnecessary, as the Cabinet’s discussions on the matter were constructive.

Former Deputy Prime Minister and NSC leader Eddy van Hijum disputed that claim, saying that the talks were “more like a twelve-round boxing match.” According to him, his party’s departure wasn’t a surprise. He had warned Prime Minister Schoof on Thursday evening that “this was a very sensitive matter” for the NSC.

Van Hijum said he would return to parliament before the October 29 elections. He wants to play a “constructive” role there with his party. It is not clear when he will return as a representative. The Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament, is on summer recess until September 1 and will go on election recess on October 3.