Netherlands

3 weeks ago, the wedding of Minister of Justice and Security Ferdinand Grapperhaus took place. A few days after the wedding, the wedding picture was published, in which it was visible that the minister, as well as the guests, were not complying with the 1.5-metre social distancing rule which he himself had imposed as part of national COVID-19 measures. The event drew considerable attention in the House of Representatives; Geert Wilders of the Freedom Party and Thierry Baudet of the Forum of Democracy have expressed their disagreement with what happened and were of the opinion that the minister should resign. Prime Minister Rutte however stayed on Grapperhaus’ side all this time, and on 9 September it was announced that Mr. Grapperhaus will retain his position. This incident has had considerable influence on public opinion – 42 percent of Dutch citizens no longer consider Mr. Grapperhaus to be credible. On 4 September, it was announced that Minister of Foreign Trade, Development and Cooperation Sigrid Kaag has officially been elected as party leader of D66 ahead of the parliamentary elections to take place on 17 March 2021.