International

The parliamentary examination commission which researched the tax office benefits scandal has presented their final report. For Socialist Party leader Lilian Marijnissen, the outcome is clear: ‘The report is very tough. And that’s completely justified, because thousands of affected parents and their children have been crushed by a monstrous machine that we call the government. Again, the Netherlands must face the facts: ten years of Rutte has resulted in a rotten system in which the government is not the ally of the people, but its enemy.’

SP-senator Arda Gerkens has been appointed President of the Geo Political Group Twelve Plus, a co-ordinating body which brings together National Groups within the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the IPU. The 12+ group is composed of members from countries whose parliaments are based on multi-party democracies and other democratic principles as enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights.