Political resignation following Amsterdam violence

Photo: Sem van der Wal Agence France-Presse State Secretary Nora Achahbar, responsible for benefits and customs, and State Secretary Teun Struycken, responsible for legal protection, sit in the Catshuis, the official residence of the prime minister, after a cabinet meeting in The Hague on Friday.

Charlotte Van Ouwerkerk – Agence France-Presse The Hague

Published and updated on November 15

• Europe

A Dutch state secretary resigned Friday in protest over what she said were racist remarks made by a colleague at a cabinet meeting following violence against Israelis in Amsterdam, but the departure did not cause the ruling right-wing coalition to splinter as some had feared.

Finance Secretary Nora Achahbar “has decided not to stay” in her post, Prime Minister Dick Schoof said after a crisis meeting Friday night. “But as a government, we have decided to continue together,” he added.

“There has never been any racism in my government or within the coalition parties,” the prime minister assured.

Dick Schoof has been at the head of a coalition of four parties since July, the largest of which is the Freedom Party (PVV) of far-right leader Geert Wilders, which came out on top in the November 2023 legislative elections with 37 seats in the lower house of parliament out of 150.

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Ms Achahbar, a 42-year-old former prosecutor of Moroccan origin, is part of the New Social Contract (NSC), an anti-corruption party that has 20 seats in the lower house. Her departure threatened to break up the right-wing coalition if other ministers decided to follow her example.

According to Dutch media, she did not appreciate remarks deemed racist made by one of her colleagues in the cabinet meeting after the violence against Israeli football fans last week in Amsterdam.

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• What happened Thursday night in Amsterdam ?

The nature of these remarks and which minister made them are unknown. Earlier, in a debate in parliament, Geert Wilders – who like the other party leaders is not a member of the government but has remained a simple MP – had blamed the violence in Amsterdam on “Muslims” and “Moroccans”.

Following a crisis meeting that lasted all evening on Friday at the prime minister’s official residence in The Hague, the NSC finally decided to remain in the coalition, which thus retained its majority.

“Polarising behaviour”

“The polarising behaviour of recent weeks has had such an impact on me that I can no longer and will no longer fulfil my role as state secretary of this government effectively,” Nora Achahbar told the journalists.

“When we can no longer agree or understand each other, we become mired in hostility. That means we can no longer work towards common goals,” she added.

“I am extremely happy that the government has not fallen,” Geert Wilders told the media. “We trust each other and we continue together,” he added.

On the night of November 7-8, after a Europa League match between Ajax Amsterdam and Maccabi Tel Aviv, Maccabi fans were chased and beaten in the streets of Amsterdam.

There had been anti-Palestine incidents before the match, including the burning of a Palestinian flag and anti-Arab chants by Maccabi fans.

The investigation is still ongoing and many gray areas remain in the sequence of events.

The violence comes amid polarization in Europe, with anti-Semitic and Islamophobic acts on the rise since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza in October 2023.

Prime Minister Schoof, who has called the violence against Israeli fans “anti-Semitic,” this week promised sweeping measures to combat anti-Semitism.