The potential Minister of Economic Affairs, Dirk Bilgaerts, is far removed from the questions surrounding his appointment. He has been discredited because he was allegedly involved in the bankruptcy of an administrative office of Koninklijke Horeca Nederland (KHN). The minister-nominee himself says he is not guilty of this, but National Security Council MP Femke Zedek stated during questioning of Bilgaerts that he would like more clarity on the issue.

The ministers nominated for the next government in the House of Representatives are being questioned about their past, even before the government is put on the stage. Nominated by the PVV as Minister of Economic Affairs, Bilgaerts was discredited because, as director of KHN and director of KHN Rekenwerk, he was involved in the bankruptcy of the latter administrative agency. The bankruptcy may be due in part to the consequences of the pandemic, but the curator has been investigating for nearly a year to see if anyone should also be held liable.

No blame

In interrogation, Billiarts stated that he was not guilty and that he left KHN on his own initiative. He denies that he resigned under pressure from the KHN lobby. National Security Council representative Femke Zidek is not convinced by this reading and says she first wants to see the curator’s report. The curator said the report would be published soon, but it could take a couple of months. According to political reporter Leandert Beckmann, Zedijk is actually giving an ultimatum for her request. However, Beckman does not believe this will prevent the Cabinet from being sworn in: “The National Security Council does not have any additional resources to do anything about it, so it will simply be on the steps next week.”