Prime Minister Mark Rutte is ill and that is why the debate scheduled for today on the results of the provincial council elections will be postponed to tomorrow. “It’s completely bizarre that Rutte is sick, this has never happened before,” says political journalist Mats Akkerman.
The prime minister said via Twitter that he had an “up night” because he “probably ate something wrong”. According to Akkerman, it looks like food poisoning. «It almost never happens that Rutte is ill, at least not in the more than twelve years that he has been prime minister. He also hardly ever logs out, because even when his mother died he continued to work.’
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On Twitter, people are questioning the prime minister’s illness. But the leader of GroenLinks Jesse Klaver – who had asked for the debate – has no doubts about the sincerity. The debate would concern the election result which did not work out favorably for the coalition parties, and it is now known that it will be postponed until tomorrow.
Nitrogen limit
Interesting, says Akkermans, because tomorrow morning the Council of State will issue a new ruling on the nitrogen limit. ‘We are currently measuring nitrogen up to 25 kilometers from a new construction project, but we don’t really stop there. It is therefore possible that the Council of State draws a limit to this limit and that there is consequently the risk of new delays in the issue of building permits’, explains the political journalist.
The nitrogen dossier is a contentious issue within coalition parties, and Akkerman suspects the State Council’s ruling could have an even greater influence on the debate. ‘After Friday’s debate, at the insistence of the CDA, the cabinet decided to temporarily suspend the policy and await the agricultural agreement and the provinces’ plans. But above all the opposition is asking for greater clarity.’
‘D66 could soon feel a boost from the Council of State ruling’
However, BoerBurgerBeweging chair Caroline van der Plas believes that tomorrow’s debate should be primarily about the election results and should not turn into a nitrogen debate. “If we want a nitrogen debate, we have to demand it,” says Van der Plas. Meanwhile, D66 has indicated it will address the nitrogen situation more quickly. “They may feel a boost from tomorrow’s verdict,” Akkerman thinks.
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.
