He argues that there are structural errors in government policy. Particularly approaching issues in a compartmentalized way makes things unnecessarily difficult, she says. “It usually happens that something has several approaches and, depending on the incident, the House or the Cabinet chooses a direction to go.” But that often results in a new problem being created somewhere else, she says. “And that’s a problem.”
“Quick response often causes another problem”
Furthermore, Jansen notes that the cabinet has a tendency to react too hastily to incidents, because decisiveness is needed. “And then often the quick reaction causes another problem,” he continues. ‘He thinks he violates a legal principle, as with the victims of the benefit.’
Fascinating
Radboud University constitutional law professor Paul Bovend’Eert even dares to compare Groningen’s handling of the gas problem with the Supplementary Affair, a comparison he calls “fascinating.” Especially since both cases demonstrate that the relationship between government and parliament does not work properly. “In the sense that the cabinet is strongly connected in a majority coalition,” explains Bovend’Eert. “That majority blindly follows the cabinet on the basis of the coalition agreement, so the parliament cannot effectively carry out its monitoring function independently.”
This also makes it difficult for the Dutch parliament to intervene if a unilateral policy line is chosen, “whereas there may be better alternatives available”.
To contract
Jansen acknowledges the situation outlined by Bovend’Eert. As examples, he cites the introduction of landlord tax and temporary leases. “This was completely blocked in advance,” continues Jansen. “It was a spring deal with the Labor Party, VVD, D66, SGP and ChristenUnie, and it was actually sort of a deal.”
Discussions would no longer matter according to Jansen, and that’s frustrating. “Because all the problems that exist now, including those in the real estate market, were foreseen a long time ago,” he says. “Sometimes it’s better to try and spend a little more time at the front for good legislation, than to escalate the problem by tossing and tossing.”