Articles with the Tag Balkenende

Holland can has Iraq inquiry — but not yet

Dutch politics, War on Iraq
Published on

Yesterday was the big parliamentary debate about whether or not there would be an inquiry into the Iraq War. Over the weekend Balkenende had proposed to let an independent commission take a look at Dutch participation in the war, while the opposition wanted a proper parliamentary inquiry. But because the governmental parties had a majority in government and even though many of the social democrats did want a proper inquiry, the result was one of those typically Dutch compromises. Balkenende dropped his resistance, but only if parliament would agree to his ideas about an independent commission first. The upshot is that a proper inquiry has been kidked into the long grass, as the commission will have six months to research all questions about Dutch involvement in Iraq. What’s more, during this time the government will also refuse to answer any new questions about Iraq, in order to “give the commission room to work”.

In all, Balkenende has done well. He”s bend to the will of parliament and defused what could’ve become a government crisis without actually having to compromise. The danger is that with this long delay the inquiry will disappear of parliament’s radar and hence never happen, which he won’t mind much…

Holland can has Iraq inquiry?

Dutch politics, War on Iraq
Published on

coverup

This past month the Dutch participation in the War on Iraq has been put back in the spotlight. Ever since we got involved there has always been a feeling we haven’t so much been lied into the war, as muddled into it, with the then government at first only offering political support for the war, whatever that means, but afterwards providing several thousand troops for the occupation. The leftwing parties, led by the Dutch Socialist Party ever since have pressed for a proper parliamentary inquiry into why and how Holland got into the war, but successive governments have always held the boat off –not surprising since Balkenende led each one of them…

Last month however it was revealed that top legal advisers to the Foreign Ministry had doubts about the legality of the war and that contrary to what it said at the time and since, the then government was planning to take active part in the war. This slow drumbeat of revelations upped the pressure on the government to give in to the demands of the opposition for a parliamentary inquiry, especially since there already was a majority in the Eerste Kamer (Dutch equivalent to the Senate or House of Lords) for one. However the coalition agreements the governmental parties entered into at the start of their government explicitely ruled out such an inquiry, while Balkenende himself was always adamantly opposed.

So it came as a bit of a surprise yesterday to see Balkenende announcing an inquiry into the War on Iraq, especially since it was timed for a normally very quiet newsday. The reasons for that became clear very quickly. What Balkenende announced was not a proper inquiry, but just another try at punting the ball into the long grass. Instead of an inquiry led by parliament, Balkenende wants an “independent” commission which will take the questions asked in parliament about the war and report back to parliament about them when their investigation is finished. It’s clear that Balkenende hopes to confront parliament with a fait accompli by removing control of the inquiry from parliament this way. The opposition is of course less than impressed with this and is still pushing for a proper investigation. Debate on this will happen tomorrow, so we’ll have to wait and see who’ll win.