The Hague – According to the prime minister himself, outgoing Prime Minister Rutte’s Ministry of General Affairs has not intervened to adjust the government’s line on the war between Israel and Hamas. “There is a discussion,” says Rutte. But the prime minister firmly denies that adjustments have been made to increase the chances of him becoming NATO’s top chief.
This week the NRC reported complaints from Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials regarding Ministry Rutte’s interference in Israeli politics. According to the complainants, General Affairs would like to sweep unwanted information under the carpet at all costs and, for example, want to hide possible violations of the laws of war.
Officials suspect that the job prospects of Rutte, a candidate for NATO’s top job, play a role in this. Support from the United States is very important for this purpose, and the complaining officials believe that the Netherlands is firmly toeing that country’s line.
According to the outgoing prime minister, this is not the case. Rutte himself states that he “would not pay a cent” if he were to make changes to his opportunities in NATO. When PvdA/GL MP Klaver makes this suggestion, Rutte says: “You can’t be serious! Jesse, damn.”
Rutte says his ministry has not intervened, but is discussing Israel with the Foreign Ministry. According to the prime minister, the involvement of General Affairs in foreign policy is inevitable given the broader role of the European Council, where Rutte always represents the Netherlands.
The emerging parties BBB and NSC also express disapproval of the leaks from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where officials also publicly protest against their own Israeli policy. “The prime minister has been personally thrown under the bus,” says BBB MP Tuinman. “In my opinion this leak is professionally impure.” NSC MP Kahraman fears that the leak of information from the ministry “jeopardizes the functioning of Dutch diplomacy.”
“I blame those who anonymously say that General Affairs intervened. This simply did not happen,” Rutte also says. But he doesn’t want to lose sight of the Farnesina: “As far as I’m concerned, the leaks do not take anything away from the professionalism of the Farnesina”. According to him, it is also “inevitable” that information comes through anonymous officials: “You can really lash with the whip, but it doesn’t make sense.”
Lunch update
Daily update of the most important news during lunch.
2024-01-25 16:25:12
#Rutte #denies #intervening #Israeli #politics #opportunities #NATO #Domestic
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