Prime Minister Mark Rutte admitted that the tone of his response to the investigation report into the gas drilling in Groningen was not good. “I didn’t do it right myself,” he says. Rutte said he was tired, “but that shouldn’t be an excuse.”
When the report was presented by the parliamentary commission of inquiry, Rutte has not yet wanted to respond in substance. He called it “disrespectful” to Groningen residents to respond immediately. It’s about 2000 pages. I don’t think it’s fair to answer this haphazardly.’
The committee judges the prime minister harshly: he has not done enough for the people of Groningen and has not ‘made a difference’ for them. Most of the research focuses on the period after 2012, after Rutte took office as prime minister.
“Gravity and urgency underestimated”
According to the committee, Rutte “has long underestimated the seriousness and urgency of the problem in Groningen”. Only in 2018 did the Prime Minister realize how “bizarre” it was that in 2013, exactly one year after a major earthquake in Huizinge, gas extraction had reached a record high. But he did not do what should have been expected of him at the time, according to the committee.
Source: BNR
Fernando Dowling is an author and political journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. He has a deep understanding of the political landscape and a passion for analyzing the latest political trends and news.
