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Hoekstra puts unity of Dutch Government at risk with nitrogen comments

Politicians in The Hague were in for an unpleasant surprise when the interview with CDA politician, and also current Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister, Wopke Hoekstra was published. Especially Hoekstra’s suggestion to let go of the Government’s target to reduce the amount of nitrogen by 2030 raised some eyebrows.

The CDA is under enormous pressure. The Government published their nitrogen policy in June, which caused a storm of protests by farmers in the Netherlands. The Christian Democrat party traditionally relies on a large support base in rural areas and fears a reckoning in next year’s Provincial Council elections.

The Government takes an outwardly united stance on policy and supposedly speaks ‘with one mouth’. Hoekstra broke this rule with his comments, according to Wim Voermans, Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law at Leiden University. ‘Unity is the rule in cabinet policy. He [Hoekstra] should have discussed this within the Government,’ tweeted Voermans.

 You can read the full article (in Dutch) on the News Explorer website.

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