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"Harmful", "unprofessional" and "awkward" are the reactions of the House of Representatives to Blok's controversial statements.
PvdA and SP want the House to come back from the break so that the Minister can clarify That means that even though Mr. Blok sent an "apology letter" to the House on Wednesday, he does not want it to be clear. has not withdrawn his words and no excuse can be found in writing either.
Blok says he's offended by his remarks and he regrets it. Minister VVD states in the letter that his statements were also intended to "stimulate in part".
Multicultural Society
What does Blok still say? Among other things, he knows no peaceful multicultural or multiethnic society, except in countries where the original population has been "exterminated", as described by Blok.
When asked what he means by that and if the minister knows examples of monocultural societies, the Department of Foreign Affairs did not want to answer. It is also not known whether Blok, for example, regards the Netherlands as a multicultural and peaceful society.
He also stated that he was "probably deeply ingrained in our genes" to live in well organized groups. What Blok – who chaired in 2004 as chairman of the commission of inquiry on integration policy – is that integration in the Netherlands has been successful –
GroenLinks, SP and PvdA therefore ask for clarification. They find Blok's letter of apology "insufficient". Zihni Özdil (GroenLinks) wants a clear explanation and apologies. "He should actually leave as long as he does not apologize," he writes in NRC Handelsblad
The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs says in an answer that Blok can not not answer questions related to his statements about the alleged genetic aversion that people would have towards others. The question of how Blok thinks of the multicultural society is also not resolved, because these questions are asked by parliamentary questions that must be answered first, according to the ministry.
Now, coalition parties VVD, CDA, D66 and CU debate, continue the remarkable statements Block the rest of the summer lair
What are the consequences?
The damage to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is considerable. In a short time, his minister is attacked again. Blok succeeded his party colleague, Halbe Zijlstra, in March of this year, after Zijlstra lied about his presence during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin
Once again, the Dutch diplomats will be embarrassed. Foreign media, such as The Washington Post write with surprise on the issue
Refugees
Not only are Foreign Office officials in a difficult situation, but also Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Secretary of State Mark Harbers was embarrassed by Blok.
Blok said at the meeting that he does not believe that a fair redistribution of refugees across the EU will succeed, because the European member states of the EU "Are never agreed". With this, Blok has weakened the bargaining position of the Netherlands, because Eastern Europeans know that the Dutch Foreign Minister has no confidence in the Dutch effort to ensure a equitable distribution of refugees among the EU Member States. [19659022] Suriname
Blok's statements about Suriname did little to restore ties between the two countries. Diplomatic relations with the former colony have been at the freezing point since the election of Desi Bouterse as president of the South American republic. A year ago, Suriname denied the country access to the ambassador of the Netherlands.
After Blok's decision that Suriname was a failed state the government [surinamais] apologized for the minister.
Because Blok does not get in touch with the Bouterse government with his statements, not many people will be awake. But with the claim that Suriname is a failed state because of ethnic division, it focuses on the Surinamese population and this not only causes bad blood among residents, but also a part of the Surinamese population. Tire recovery seems more distant than ever.
Imago damage
Although Blok receives the necessary criticism, his position does not seem to be under pressure at the moment. The coalition parties have been content with the letter of apology and do not seem willing to send the second foreign minister of the VVD in a very short time.
The consequences are anyway important. Blok, who has been described by several media as a reliable and boring member of the government, is no stranger to this picture.
For years Blok went through the Binnenhof as a man who was not mad and who said goodbye last year. politics. Until Rutte makes a strong call to replace Zijlstra. The damage to the image that Blok suffered shines on Prime Minister Rutte, but also on the cabinet and the coalition.
Press D66
Especially on D66 the pressure will increase. AD reported on Thursday that a group of D66 members were waiting for their House of Representatives to "sincerely apologize" to the minister. "It's a very basic thing, we believe in a multiform and multicultural society," says one of the signatories.
When the party was still in opposition, D66 was also known as a party that defended the multicultural society.
In the municipal elections, the party made the alleged racism of FVD leader Thierry Baudet, one of the spearheads of the campaign. According to Deputy Prime Minister D66 Kajsa Ollongren, Baudet's party broke the statements about race and intelligence, one of the few taboos for her: talking about races in the political debate. D66 leader Alexander Pechtold openly accused Baudet of racism
. But the criticism of a minister of his own coalition proves more difficult. Ollongren has not been hinted, just like Pechtold. MP Kees Verhoeven said Blok's statements were "incomprehensible". He did not want to respond to Blok's apology letter. "D66 notes the reports in which Minister Blok takes up his words and sees a substantive debate immediately after the break as desirable and necessary," Verhoeven informed us by text message.
This debate will take place in September. So far, the question remains: what does Minister Blok really think of the multicultural society?
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