Minister offers cake to Vijfheerenlanden mayor after leaving town off the map

Housing and asylum minister Mona Keijzer has apologized to the mayor of Vijfheerenlanden after posting a map of the Netherlands that left out his municipality. On X Wednesday evening, she wrote: “Cake and a new map, Sjors Fröhlich, because a promise is a promise.”

Vijfheerenlanden, a municipality in Utrecht, was formed in 2019 following a merger of the Zuid-Holland municipalities Vianen, Leerdam, and Utrecht municipality Zederik. This resulted in a change to the province’s boundary. Since then, Mayor Fröhlich has taken it upon himself to point out errors to the media and politicians who share outdated maps of the Netherlands that do not reflect the updated Utrecht boundary.

On Monday, November 10, Keijzer shared an outdated map of the Netherlands on X, which drew a response from Mayor Fröhlich. “Uh, dear Ms. Keijzer,” he commented, “if even the minister is using the wrong map, I really have to intervene.” He offered a playful solution: “A wrong map calls for fresh cake.”

The gesture went beyond words: in a video posted on X Wednesday evening, Keijzer presented a cake to Mayor Fröhlich. “Thank you very much,” he said. “I really appreciate it.” Later that night, he also accepted her apology on X, adding, “Let’s put this behind us.”

Fröhlich often receives cake as an apology when celebrities make the error. In the past, this also occurred with the talk show host Arjen Lubach and the makers of the comedy show Even Tot Hier.