Will the postponement be canceled or is there still political life in the 2G bill from corona minister Hugo de Jonge (CDA)? It’s the big question now De Jonge enters the House of Representatives on Monday in a letter asked to postpone the 2G bill until January. Earlier, the cabinet had urged that the law be discussed in a debate this week as soon as possible. But De Jonge seems to have made a serious mistake in the political support for a 2G policy, whereby only vaccinated or cured people can gain access to some places.
De Jonge formally gives a number of reasons for the postponement in his letter. First of all, the cabinet does not expect to be able to relax the measures in the coming weeks, not even with 2G, because of “the level of infection pressure and the ongoing pressure on healthcare”. The Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport also mentions the uncertainties surrounding the Omikron variant, which could actually worsen the epidemiological situation in the coming weeks.
But shortly afterwards, De Jonge cites the real reason for not already treating 2G: the support of a parliamentary majority is “still insufficiently certain” at the moment.
Untimely and thoughtless
This has been evident in recent weeks. Opposition parties that have taken a constructive position in the corona crisis, such as the PvdA, GroenLinks or Volt, find De Jonge’s 2G proposal untimely and not well thought out. They believe that the maximum must first be done to reduce the infection rates. The ChristenUnie, part of the outgoing coalition, continues to object in principle to 2G. Member of Parliament Mirjam Bikker (CU) said on Monday that he was happy with the suspension and called 2G “not a beneficial route now and later” because it leads to further polarization between vaccinated and non-vaccinated.
The fact that De Jonge has not yet received a majority of enthusiasm for his 2G plan is a sensitive setback. At a corona press conference last month, the minister presented 2G as an inevitable measure that would help the Netherlands “to get through the winter as openly and at the same time as safely as possible”. According to him, the alternative would be that sectors should remain closed for longer.
A majority in parliament is not convinced of this contradiction and believes that the government sees 2G too much as a panacea. Many groups have doubts about the scientific basis because vaccinated and cured people can still be contagious.
Heels in the sand
It is special that the Chamber is putting its heels in the sand. Never before in the Covid-19 crisis did the cabinet not submit a proposal because a majority was missing. Parliament clearly dares to take a more stance when it comes to the corona measures and no longer wants to be used as a stamping machine for the cabinet. At the same time, the controversy surrounding 2G shows how deeply divided Dutch politics is about how to proceed with corona in the medium term. Sources around the cabinet have been complaining for some time that the House is mainly against everything and does not come up with serious alternatives.
D66, the strongest proponent of 2G, is “really disappointed” about the postponement, says MP Jan Paternotte. He calls it “a sign of political weakness”. Paternotte sees that in many European countries the step towards 2G or even compulsory vaccination is being taken and that the Netherlands is lagging behind.
The D66 member also points out that various sectors, such as the event industry and culture, have asked politicians to make haste with 2G. “I am afraid that we will avoid difficult choices here and that we will soon have the longest lockdown in Europe.”
The government hopes it will not come to that. De Jonge writes in his letter that the cabinet “continues to attach great importance to the addition of 2G to the repertoire of measures to be deployed”. In the coming weeks, he wants to send a better substantiation to the House, including the latest epidemiological developments regarding the Omikron variant. De Jonge also hopes to be able to say more in early January about how effective 2G has been in the countries where it is already being used.
CU continues to hammer on 1G
The question is whether the infection figures will fall to such an extent in the coming weeks that the use of 2G will become a serious option, or that alternatives will have more chance. On Monday, the ChristenUnie immediately drew attention to its own plan for a 1G model, in which vaccinated people must also test. The party points out that a country such as Portugal, with a vaccination rate of 98 percent, is also committed to maximum testing of the population. MP Bikker says that the Netherlands must prepare for the permanent presence of corona and that therefore “maximum creativity is needed to ensure that everyone can continue to participate in society in the long term”. “Testing as much as possible is an important part of that strategy.”
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