However, the eight ministers will discuss a (draft) letter in which the cabinet outlines a broad analysis of the country’s temperature and provides a (first) response.
Very concrete proposals and actions will not yet be included, according to sources in The Hague. The letter will be sent to the House of Representatives on Friday, after it has been discussed in the Cabinet. The letter also serves as preparation for Tuesday’s parliamentary debate on the results of the provincial elections. All the opposition in the House of Representatives had asked for it.
In the parliamentary elections, the BoerBurgerBeweging (BBB), opponent of the government’s nitrogen policy, suddenly became the largest party in all provinces. The coalition parties VVD, D66, CDA and ChristenUnie lost heavily. With 17 of the 75 seats, the BBB will also likely be the largest party in the Senate. The Senate will be elected on May 30.
The cabinet wants improvements
After Tuesday’s first cabinet meeting, Rutte said the cabinet wants to make improvements to large and ongoing files that concern voters. This concerns not only the nitrogen crisis, but also the surcharge scandal and the handling of victims of the Groningen gas extraction. The top cabinet also realizes that politics is not for everyone in the Netherlands. The government must also give an answer to this.
Rutte and Deputy Prime Ministers Sigrid Kaag (D66), Wopke Hoekstra (CDA) and Carola Schouten (ChristenUnie) will discuss the extensive analysis that began on Tuesday evening on Thursday. They do so together with their Deputy Minister Mark Harbers (VVD, Infrastructure and Water Management), State Secretary Hans Vijlbrief (Mines, D66), State Secretary Marnix van Rij (Taxation, CDA) and State Secretary Maarten van Ooijen (Public Health , ChristenUnie ).