{"id":7103,"date":"2021-01-18T10:56:09","date_gmt":"2021-01-18T10:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/?p=7103"},"modified":"2021-01-18T10:56:09","modified_gmt":"2021-01-18T10:56:09","slug":"why-did-the-dutch-government-suddenly-decide-to-leave-aftreding-toeslagenaffaire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/why-did-the-dutch-government-suddenly-decide-to-leave-aftreding-toeslagenaffaire\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Did the Dutch Government Suddenly Decide to Leave?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Last Friday, the Dutch\u00a0<em>regering\u00a0<\/em>decided that it was time to\u00a0<em>opstappen\u00a0<\/em>(resign).\u00a0<em>Minister-president\u00a0<\/em>(Prime Minister) Mark Rutte offered the\u00a0<em>ontslag\u00a0<\/em>(resignation) of his entire <em>kabinet\u00a0<\/em>(cabinet) to the <em>koning\u00a0<\/em>(king). The\u00a0<em>toeslagenaffaire <\/em>was the big cause of the\u00a0<em>aftreding\u00a0<\/em>(resignation). What happened? And why now? And what does this mean for <em>Nederland<\/em>?<\/p>\n<h1><strong>The\u00a0<em>kindertoeslagenaffaire<\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Eindverslag onderzoek kinderopvangtoeslag overhandigd\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sN8iT-gl5D8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s a long word, but with a heavy load. The\u00a0<em>kindertoeslagenaffaire <\/em>(child welfare fraud scandal), or sometimes simply <em>toeslagenaffaire<\/em>, is a complex situation in which about 26,000 <em>ouders\u00a0<\/em>(parents) were accused of having received\u00a0<em>kindertoeslagen\u00a0<\/em>fraudulently. This started years ago, and over the years,\u00a0<em>ouders\u00a0<\/em>had to pay back large sums of\u00a0<em>kindertoeslagen\u00a0<\/em>that they had actually\u00a0<em>rechtmatig\u00a0<\/em>(rightfully) received.<\/p>\n<p>To figure out what went wrong, a\u00a0<em>parlementaire vragencommissie\u00a0<\/em>(parliamentary inquiry commission) researched the topic. They found that this whole situation was grossly mismanaged, and the\u00a0<em>onrecht\u00a0<\/em>(injustice) has been going on for so long because of bad management and unclear hierarchies. Their <em>schrijnend\u00a0<\/em>(distressing) report was finalized in December 2020. It led those in charge to take <em>verantwoordelijkheid\u00a0<\/em>(responsibility) and to <em>aftreden <\/em>(step down). That&#8217;s why the\u00a0<em>aftreding\u00a0<\/em>(resignation) came now.<\/p>\n<h1><strong>What does the\u00a0<em>aftreding\u00a0<\/em>mean for the Netherlands?<\/strong><\/h1>\n<div id=\"attachment_7104\" style=\"width: 840px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone post-item__attachment\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rijksoverheid.nl\/regering\/over-de-regering\/kabinetten-sinds-1945\/kabinet-rutte-iii\" aria-label=\"Rutte 3 Toeslagenaffaire\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7104\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7104\"  alt=\"Aftreding_Kabinet_Rutte_Toeslagenaffaire\" width=\"830\" height=\"553\" \/ src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/01\/Rutte_3_toeslagenaffaire.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/01\/Rutte_3_toeslagenaffaire.jpg 830w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/01\/Rutte_3_toeslagenaffaire-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/01\/Rutte_3_toeslagenaffaire-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 830px) 100vw, 830px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-7104\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Kabinet-Rutte III<\/em> with <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/dutch-kings-day-in-quarantine\/\"><em>koning Willem-Alexander<\/em><\/a> at <em>Paleis Noordeinde<\/em> in Den Haag at the time of the <em>aantreden<\/em> (taking office) of the new <em>regering<\/em>. Taken on October 26, 2017. (Image by Valerie Kuypers at Rijksoverheid.nl under license CC0)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Because of the\u00a0<em>aftreding<\/em>, Rutte III is now\u00a0<em>demissionair\u00a0<\/em>(outgoing). They will continue being the\u00a0<em>kabinet<\/em> until the next elections. It also means that the current\u00a0<em>kabinet\u00a0<\/em>is only keeping the ship afloat &#8211; they won&#8217;t meddle in\u00a0<em>gevoelige\u00a0<\/em>(sensitive) or\u00a0<em>omstreden\u00a0<\/em>(controversial) topics. Those are for the next\u00a0<em>kabinet<\/em>! The legislative branch consisting of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/binnenhof-eerste-kamer\/\"><em>Eerste Kamer<\/em><\/a> and the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/dutch-political-system-in-a-nutshell\/\"><em>Tweede Kamer<\/em><\/a> decide on a list of topics that are\u00a0<em>gevoelig\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0<em>omstreden<\/em>. The <em>demissionair <\/em>government can&#8217;t just come up with this stuff by themselves.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, the first worry is\u00a0<em>coronavirusbestrijding\u00a0<\/em>(fight against the coronavirus). How does a <em>demissionair <\/em>government deal with a crisis that requires sometimes quick and controversial decisions? Rutte had something to say about that:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;<em>Mentaal, praktisch, de facto blijft het kabinet missionair qua coronabestrijding.<\/em>&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>(Mentally, practically, <em>de facto<\/em>, the cabinet remains in office in terms of the fight against corona.)<\/p>\n<p>This isn&#8217;t just something he said, but also agreed upon with the\u00a0<em>oppositiepartijen\u00a0<\/em>(opposition parties). So regarding corona, nothing should really change because of the\u00a0<em>aftreding<\/em>.<\/p>\n<h1><strong>More Information on the\u00a0<em>aftreding<\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Toeslagenaffaire. De ellende uitgelegd.\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rMDkzG9yHs8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The video above is a great <em>uitleg\u00a0<\/em>(explanation) about the\u00a0<em>toeslagenaffaire\u00a0<\/em>and the\u00a0<em>aftreding\u00a0<\/em>of the\u00a0<em>kabinet.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Do you want to read more on the topic? Here a few links to interesting Dutch articles on the matter.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kidsweek.nl\/nieuws\/kabinet-stapt-op-drie-vragen-en-antwoorden\">Kidsweek, Kabinet stapt op: drie vragen (en antwoorden)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.trouw.nl\/opinie\/het-kabinet-is-gevallen-maar-de-zelfreflectie-ontbreekt-bij-de-politiek~bcbfc7dc\/\">Trouw, Het kabinet is gevallen, maar de zelfreflectie ontbreekt bij de politiek<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tweedekamer.nl\/kamerleden_en_commissies\/commissies\/pok\">Information regarding the\u00a0<em>parlementaire ondervragingscommissie kinderopvangtoeslag<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/nos.nl\/collectie\/13855-van-affaire-tot-val-kabinet.html\">A collection of articles from NOS on the\u00a0<em>toeslagenaffaire<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<h3><strong>What do you think about the\u00a0<em>val van het kabinet\u00a0<\/em>(the fall of the cabinet)? Let me know in the comments below!<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<img width=\"350\" height=\"233\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/01\/Rutte_3_toeslagenaffaire-350x233.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Aftreding_Kabinet_Rutte_Toeslagenaffaire\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/01\/Rutte_3_toeslagenaffaire-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/01\/Rutte_3_toeslagenaffaire-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/01\/Rutte_3_toeslagenaffaire.jpg 830w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><p>Last Friday, the Dutch\u00a0regering\u00a0decided that it was time to\u00a0opstappen\u00a0(resign).\u00a0Minister-president\u00a0(Prime Minister) Mark Rutte offered the\u00a0ontslag\u00a0(resignation) of his entire kabinet\u00a0(cabinet) to the koning\u00a0(king). The\u00a0toeslagenaffaire was the big cause of the\u00a0aftreding\u00a0(resignation). What happened? And why now? And what does this mean for Nederland? The\u00a0kindertoeslagenaffaire It&#8217;s a long word, but with a heavy load. The\u00a0kindertoeslagenaffaire (child welfare fraud scandal)&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/why-did-the-dutch-government-suddenly-decide-to-leave-aftreding-toeslagenaffaire\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":7104,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[60713,27711,27714],"tags":[358723,358738,506132,6397,540791],"class_list":["post-7103","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture-2","category-dutch-vocabulary-2","category-news-2","tag-dutch-government","tag-dutch-politics","tag-mark-rutte","tag-parliament","tag-tweede-kamer"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/110"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7103"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7103\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7106,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7103\/revisions\/7106"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}