International

The entire process around Brexit has become a piece of political kitsch, according to SP Member of Parliament Renske Leijten. Leijten was speaking in Wednesday's parliamentary debate on the Brexit postponement. She applauded the fact that the British were to be given a longer period to make possible a plan which can find a majority in the House of Commons. “To date what we've seen is a political poker game, and a massive atmosphere of panic being created,” said Leijten. “What at the same time is going unmentioned is that the European Union's attitude has also contributed to the current impasse.”

With an eye on Britain's departure from the European Union, the Dutch government has been given a mandate by Parliament to take measures, should they see it as necessary, without the approval or involvement of the legislature, even if these measures go against current law. In the view of SP Senator Bastiaan van Apeldoorn, Parliament should not be cooperating in its exclusion in this way, which is why the party voted against the Brexit Law during yesterday's session. “Of course the SP approves of the government making preparations for Brexit and what Brexit will mean for the Netherlands,” says Van Apeldoorn. “This law, however, gives far-reaching emergency powers to the government without giving any decent definition of an 'emergency'.”