NEW YORK TIMES: Dispute Over Minister Topples Dutch Government NIJMEGEN, the Netherlands, June 29 — The center-right government collapsed Thursday after one of its coalition partners failed to force the country's controversial immigration minister to resign over her handling of a prominent critic of fundamentalist Islam. The three-party coalition government came undone after six weeks of political infighting over the way the minister, Rita Verdonk, treated Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali immigrant and a member of Parliament who is widely known for her outspoken stance against certain Islamic practices. The smallest party in the governing coalition party said that if Ms. Verdonk, who oversees the country's strict immigration regulations, would not quit, the party would. Late Thursday evening, the party, D66, carried through on its threats and dropped out of the government.
Good. Bloody. Job. (
Detailed story here.)
So there is some small justice for Hirsi Ali in her former homeland. And justice too for Verdonk and her bloody Government. Good to see. Good too to see a reminder that a small party acting on principle can bring down a Government.
LINKS: Dispute Over Minister Topples Dutch Government - New York Times
Cabinet crisis as D66 demands cabinet resignation - Expatica's Ducth news in English
Hitchens on Ali - Not PC (May, 2006)
Dutch appeasers reject Ali - Not PC (May, 2006)
Solving illegal immigration - Not PC (May, 206)
TAGS: Immigration, Politics-Europe
Good. Bloody. Job. (Detailed story here.)
2 comments:
And that smallest party is also engaged in a leadership struggle. D66 and principle, LOL.
This has all nothing to do with principles, it's all politics.
Berend, I said that this action was principled. I made no speculation about the principles or otherwise of D66.
The distinction between the two is important, and demonstrates perhaps that even a generally unprincipled party or person can effect real change when just for once they do act on a genuine principle.
Which means perhaps that there's hope even for the ACT Party. :-)
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