Three representatives of the Democracy Forum were suspended from representation for seven days. MPs Baudet, Jansen and Van Meijeren, who refused to give up their additional positions, are not allowed to speak during the debates for a week. You can choose.
A majority of the House of Representatives approved the sanction this afternoon, following a recommendation from the House Integrity Investigation Board. The penalty will be imposed for seven calendar days and will begin tomorrow. This means that Baudet, Van Meijeren and Jansen will not be allowed to participate in the debate for two days, as the House of Representatives will begin its Christmas recess next Friday.
MPs abstained from the vote. PVV, BBB and JA21 voted against. BBB and JA21 believe a fine would be better. Chamber president Bosma (PVV) was the only member of the parliamentary group to vote for the suspension. He is a member of the Presidium, the governing body of the House of Representatives, which forwards the executive committee’s recommendation to the House of Representatives.
According to the Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament, MPs are required to declare their additional positions and related income in a register. The idea is that representatives should present their interests transparently.
Baudet was also suspended in October last year for refusing to register his part-time job as a manager of a publishing company. This publisher, Amsterdam Media Group, markets the forum leader’s books. Even then the ban was introduced shortly before the break. Jansen and Van Meijeren, who were also the directors of the publishing house, were merely scolded.
lunch boxes
Now there is a complaint due to the fact that Baudet, Jansen and Van Meijeren sell lunch boxes under the name Honest Eten and do not record this secondary function and the income from it. While a study by Nieuwsuur last month revealed that the products in the feed boxes partly come from abroad, the Forum claims that they come directly from the land of Dutch farmers who take good care of their animals.
The Committee to Inquire into the Integrity of Members of Parliament, made up of experts outside Parliament, considers the complaint to be well-founded. MPs may have part-time jobs, but they must avoid any appearance of conflict of interest and be open and transparent about publicly registering such part-time jobs. In the opinion of the Board, this also applies in the case of a second trading position.
In recommending the decision, the Chamber also takes into account the fact that Baudet, Van Meijeren and Jansen did not cooperate in any way with the investigation. They did not respond to the complaint in any way. The fact that these are repeat offenders is also an aggravating situation.
“I am only responsible to the voters”
Baudet has previously stated that he fundamentally opposes the rule that part-time positions must be abandoned. “We are accountable only to the voters, not to the House of Representatives,” he said at the time. According to Baudet, Forum MPs report their additional income to the tax authorities. If this exceeds a certain limit, the deputy salaries of MPs are reduced.
In addition to the suspension, Baudet, van Meijeren and Jansen were also ordered to have their additional roles and income recorded in the public register. Van Meijeren was also reprimanded for not giving up his part-time job as an MP in South Holland and a city councilor in The Hague. For this, he receives a reprimand.
Source: NOS
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
