THE HAGUE – Political tensions within the ruling coalition erupted today in the normally composed Parliamentary Committee on Kingdom Relations, as coalition partners Faith Bruyning (NSC) and Peter van Haasen (PVV) engaged in a heated verbal exchange. The confrontation led to Bruyning storming out of the meeting, prompting Committee Chair Olger van Dijk (NSC) to suspend the session and follow his party colleague, who had disappeared from sight.
The clash was triggered by Aukje de Vries (VVD) proposing a debate on the financial management of the six Caribbean islands within the Kingdom. However, the proposal was rejected by a majority made up of GroenLinks-PvdA, NSC, and SP, with Bruyning stating that the topic was “not a priority.” Shortly afterward, she advocated for the Committee on Kingdom Relations to take over a Caribbean education dossier that technically falls under the Parliamentary Committee on Education.
This apparent inconsistency did not sit well with De Vries and Van Haasen. Van Haasen accused Bruyning of only supporting issues that aligned with her agenda, while ignoring others, such as financial oversight. The situation escalated further when Bruyning questioned the sincerity of PVV and VVD’s intentions, suggesting they were more interested in criticizing the islands rather than engaging in a constructive debate.
Setting preconditions for discussing the financial management of the islands was “shameful,” Van Haasen shot back. Bruyning countered that Van Haasen’s contributions to debates were even more shameful, adding, “and that’s putting it politely.”
Bruyning’s remarks received support from the opposition. Raoul White (GroenLinks-PvdA) called Van Haasen’s response “downright ridiculous, improper, and inappropriate.”
As tensions rose, Bruyning accused her coalition partner of being “not collegial,” gathered her belongings, and left the room. In an attempt to restore order, Committee Chair Van Dijk suspended the meeting and went after her. He eventually persuaded her to return, allowing the remaining agenda items to be discussed. However, the atmosphere remained tense, and any sense of unity among coalition members was nowhere to be found.