Today the House of Representatives will continue with the second part of the debate on the parliamentary inquiry into the Groningen natural gas dossier and the role of Mark Rutte. Last night the Prime Minister had a bad time from the opposition and there was no shortage of criticism from the grandstand too. “It’s just madness.”
The cabinet is allocating 22 billion euros to compensate the residents of Groningen for the damage that has occurred. And on the other hand to pay off the so-called debt of honor, the years of gas extraction without any of it returning to the province of Groningen.
In the eyes of the people of Groningen, those billions of euros are not enough and certainly not for people with serious injuries. “People with more than €40,000 in damage, for example to the foundations of their house, still need to prove that the damage was caused by the earthquakes. They don’t trust that,’ says political journalist Sophie van Leeuwen, who was present at the debate.
Sealing syringes
“I’m very curious how he’s going to fix this, why it’s become such a crooked file,” he says Chris Garrit of the Respect for Groningen action group in conversation with Van Leeuwen after the debate. He doesn’t need a new apology from the prime minister, “I’m sorry that inflation is very high in the Netherlands, we can’t take it seriously anymore.” And money is also an easy fix. ‘We must first visit people door to door, street to street, to ask what they need. That will likely result in an amount.’
‘What can you buy a few syringes of sealant with 40,000 euros?’
That extra cash should come, says Van Leeuwen. “There seems to be a motion for extra money, not 40,000 but 60,000 euros to repair your house.” According to Garrit a ‘complete weakness’, which makes him ‘angry’. ‘Sorry for my statement, but who the hell lives in the Netherlands in a house worth 60,000 euros? That doesn’t exist and certainly not those people who invent this kind of nonsense,” he says. ‘What can you buy a few syringes of sealant with 40,000 euros? It’s just madness.’
Go out
According to Van Leeuwen, Rutte will remain optimistic throughout the debate and point to the large amount of money that is ready. ‘But of course the cabinet has to keep an eye on the money these days too.’
On Tuesday evening, the Prime Minister was subjected to heavy attacks by the opposition. “Even though Rutte has been asked to step down, he knows the coalition will not let him down,” says Van Leeuwen. The debate on the ‘Groninger over gas’ report starts at 11:00.
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.
