There are still major concerns in the House of Representatives about the corona plan for the coming years, which the cabinet released on Monday. MPs are taking concrete steps. “After 2.5 years we are nowhere,” said PvdA party leader Attje Kuiken on Thursday in a parliamentary debate about the cabinet proposal. said.
The coalition also criticized the plan of Minister Ernst Kuipers (Public Health). “I was looking forward to this letter, but after reading it I thought ‘hmm’,” says VVD MP Judith Tielen.
The VVD member is afraid of an image like the past two summers. “In four weeks it will be vacation and the number of infections will increase. We may be in a rush soon and need to get back from vacation. Is the minister equally hesitant to enter into a panic discussion with parliament?
Tielen urged Kuipers to do everything “so that there is no longer an atmosphere of crisis, emergency laws and curfews”. Kuipers’ long-term strategy of 44 pages was not seen by Tielen as an ’empty shell’, as Kuiken put it, but it came close. “There’s still a lot going on for this mission.”
“If the government doesn’t govern, things will go wrong”
The parties have taken concrete steps for ventilation and plans to increase the capacity of CO2 meters in schools or CIs. SP MP Maarten Hijink: “Isn’t it stupid that you can’t hang a CO2 detector in every classroom?” said.
The CO2 meters for all more than 8,000 schools were announced with great enthusiasm by the cabinet earlier this year. 17 million euros was earmarked for this, but the schools had to do it themselves.
Hijink believes that the company should provide more leadership here. “If the government doesn’t set standards, of course there will be problems.” Joba van den Berg (CDA) had also expected more concrete plans. “You have to fix the roof when the sun is shining.” Mirjam Bikker (ChristenUnie): “I had hoped that we would be a bit further.”
Companies must become partly responsible
In business plans, the responsibility is partly placed with the companies themselves. “The government considers it important that sectors also take their responsibility and wants to use the knowledge of the sectors in a long-term strategy,” says Kuipers.
The focus is also on what people can do themselves “to prevent the possible spread of the virus as much as possible”.
Not all lawmakers think this is a viable strategy. “This is about protecting a dangerous infectious disease,” Hijink said. You should not blame the sectors. “People will continue to return to politics,” he said.
Flower Agema (PVV) also asks for more clarity. “The catering industry has no idea what the minister is doing and is not prepared to come up with a plan.”
Koninklijke Horeca Nederland (KHN) professional organization Koninklijke Horeca Nederland (KHN) wrote in a letter to MPs that the catering industry has not yet submitted a plan because the industry does not know “when we are in which scenario and with which parameters it determines”. . .
Lack of long-term vision
In The Hague, there has been a lot of talk about a long-term vision, or rather the lack of one. For a long time there was no way to measure politics. As the number of infections increased and hospitals and intensive care units were full, strict measures such as closure were announced.
When Kuipers took office, he promised to pursue a more predictable policy. The long-term strategy was to make a significant contribution to this.
Source: NU
Jason Jack is an experienced technology journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in computer science and engineering, he has a deep understanding of the latest technology trends and developments. He writes about a wide range of technology topics, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, software development, and cybersecurity.