{"id":61893,"date":"2024-05-30T02:41:23","date_gmt":"2024-05-30T02:41:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/30\/former-intelligence-chief-tapped-as-next-dutch-prime-minister\/"},"modified":"2024-05-30T02:41:23","modified_gmt":"2024-05-30T02:41:23","slug":"former-intelligence-chief-tapped-as-next-dutch-prime-minister","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/30\/former-intelligence-chief-tapped-as-next-dutch-prime-minister\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Intelligence Chief Tapped as Next Dutch Prime Minister"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/05\/29\/multimedia\/29dutch-politics-01-mcwz\/29dutch-politics-01-mcwz-facebookJumbo.jpg?resize=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Former Intelligence Chief Tapped as Next Dutch Prime Minister\" title=\"Former Intelligence Chief Tapped as Next Dutch Prime Minister\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Netherlands will be getting a new prime minister, with the four right-wing parties that are forming a government finally naming their pick, more than six months after the elections.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The parties selected a top justice official, Dick Schoof, 67, on Tuesday. They will now continue work on forming a cabinet, naming ministers and state secretaries, with the aim of finalizing a government in about four weeks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The choice of Mr. Schoof \u2014 the highest-ranking official at the Ministry of Justice and Security and a former counterterrorism chief, who has no political experience or party affiliation \u2014 reflects an attempt to govern the Netherlands differently after more than 13 years under Prime Minister Mark Rutte\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">While Mr. Schoof\u2019s name had not been widely circulated as a potential prime minister, the four parties have said they agreed to set up a government that includes political outsiders, in order to create more distance between the Parliament and the cabinet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe step I am taking now is unexpected but not illogical,\u201d Mr. Schoof told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday in The Hague, saying that he wanted to be a prime minister for all Dutch people.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">His selection comes nearly two weeks after the four right-wing parties that together hold an 88-seat majority in the 150-seat House of Representatives <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/15\/world\/europe\/netherlands-government-geert-wilders.html\" title=\"\">agreed on a preliminary deal to form a government<\/a> after months of negotiations prompted by a surprise election result in November.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Geert Wilders, a longtime populist leader known for his anti-Muslim stance, shocked the Dutch political system when his party won the biggest share of the votes. But his party still needed to form a coalition to govern, and after negotiations stalled, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/03\/13\/world\/europe\/geert-wilders-netherlands-prime-minister.html\" title=\"\">Mr. Wilders said in March that he would not become prime minister<\/a>, in an effort to increase the chances of forming a right-wing coalition. The leaders of the other three parties agreed to do the same and excluded themselves from the country\u2019s highest political office.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The coalition negotiations featured Mr. Wilders and his Party for Freedom; the People\u2019s Party for Freedom and Democracy, a center-right party that has governed the country for the past 13 years; New Social Contract, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/11\/21\/world\/europe\/netherlands-dutch-election-omtzigt.html\" title=\"\">a new, centrist party<\/a>; and the Farmer Citizen Movement, a populist pro-farmer party.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In Mr. Schoof, the four parties appear to have found what they hope is a neutral leader to help work out thorny issues such as migration policy and the country\u2019s housing shortage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Schoof emphasized on Tuesday that he was asked to be prime minister by all four parties \u2014 not just by Mr. Wilders.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Wilders said on Tuesday that Mr. Schoof was \u201cabove the political parties\u201d and \u201cvery sympathetic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cCongratulations Dick!\u201d he <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/geertwilderspvv\/status\/1795434641635082292\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">wrote on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But entering the political fray might be unavoidable for Mr. Schoof once he holds the highest office in the Netherlands, said Janka Stoker, a professor of leadership and organizational change at the University of Groningen.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cHe\u2019s going to need a lot of political skills, which is something that isn\u2019t part of his profile,\u201d Dr. Stoker added. \u201cThat\u2019s a bit of a gamble.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Schoof does not belong to any political party. After being a member of the Dutch Labor Party for about 30 years, Mr. Schoof said, he canceled his membership in 2021 because he no longer felt connected to the party.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI am nonpartisan,\u201d Mr. Schoof told reporters on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He started his long career in public service as an official at the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science in the late 1980s. From 2013 until 2018, Mr. Schoof served as the national coordinator for security and counterterrorism, during which time he was involved with the investigation <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/11\/17\/world\/europe\/mh17-crash-timeline.html\" title=\"\">into the downing of Flight MH17<\/a>. He later became the director general of the Dutch intelligence service and since 2020 has served as the top official at the Ministry of Justice and Safety.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Edwin Bakker, a professor of terrorism studies at Leiden University, predicted that Mr. Schoof\u2019s lack of political experience would not be an issue because he has been close to politicians over the course of his career and served as a kind of national security adviser to Mr. Rutte, the outgoing prime minister.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cHe has a lot of experience in crisis communication,\u201d Dr. Bakker said. \u201cI think that\u2019s a prerequisite for a prime minister.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He said the choice of Mr. Schoof was a pleasant surprise, especially because of Mr. Schoof\u2019s background in safety and cybersecurity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThis isn\u2019t a man who hides behind bureaucracy,\u201d Dr. Bakker said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Schoof\u2019s career has not been entirely without controversy: In 2021, the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nrc.nl\/nieuws\/2021\/04\/09\/nctv-volgt-heimelijk-burgers-op-sociale-media-a4039223\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Dutch newspaper NRC<\/a> reported that the national coordinator for security and counterterrorism, under Mr. Schoof\u2019s leadership, used fake accounts on Twitter to follow citizens. Mr. Schoof declined to comment when asked about the matter during the news conference on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Bits of Freedom, an independent Dutch organization that focuses on privacy and internet freedom, said that it was worried about the selection of Mr. Schoof because of what it called an invasion of privacy by Dutch officials under his leadership.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cOur own government also poses a threat to the rule of law,\u201d Evelyn Austin, the organization\u2019s director, said in a statement. \u201cWe hope that Dick Schoof, as prime minister, will commit himself to the rights and safety of all citizens. And that he has learned from the past.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/29\/world\/europe\/netherlands-prime-minister-dick-schoof.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Netherlands will be getting a new prime minister, with the four right-wing parties that are forming a government finally naming their pick, more than six months after the elections. The parties selected a top justice official, Dick Schoof, 67, on Tuesday. They will now continue work on forming a cabinet, naming ministers and state [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":61894,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/05\/29\/multimedia\/29dutch-politics-01-mcwz\/29dutch-politics-01-mcwz-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[302,17308,2538,2124,8088,3685],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61893"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61893"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61893\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61895,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61893\/revisions\/61895"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}