Rutte himself has said several times that in 2018 he felt the impact in Groningen was great. This was stated by the Prime Minister, among other things, during the interrogations of the parliamentary commission of inquiry.
However, according to GroenLinks party chairman Jesse Klaver, an event in 2013 is also crucial in this discussion, he said during the debate. ‘It was therefore decided to increase gas production, after which Gasterra asked the top management in The Hague if we wanted to do it. The Economy Ministry said, keep it up. This painfully demonstrates that money was far more important than the people of Groningen.’
To which Rutte immediately replied: ‘Exactly. It’s terrible yes.’ But a new apology, a new acknowledgment of the mistakes made, is not enough for Klaver. “I don’t want the Prime Minister to repeat that it is very bad. Of course it is very bad. He must take full responsibility for this. I want to hear it clearly.’
However, Mark Rutte’s defense remains that the political leadership was unaware of what Gasterra had said. “But he only came out after half an hour, after the debate had been suspended because he needed time to find out,” says political journalist Leendert Beekman, who follows the debate.
Not only does GroenLinks show anger during the debate, the House of Representatives feels cheated. So did the PvdA coalition party in 2013. ‘In that year, the House of Representatives asked several times whether gas extraction could be curtailed and the answer was always no. But now we know it was possible.’
allies
The coalition, allied with Rutte, also criticizes the course of events. Both ChristenUnie and the CDA want to know from the prime minister why he only realized in 2018 that things were bad in Groningen.
The many Groningen residents in the public gallery no longer have any faith in the prime minister, says Beekman. “Even if there were to be a blank check, they really no longer believe that Rutte IV can solve this problem. They really don’t believe it anymore.’