It appears the formation of an interim Government that is take over from the lame-duck William Marlin Cabinet is well on track. The incoming UP/DP/Brownbill coalition has already submitted candidate Ministers for screening.
The names being mentioned include politicians and administrators with some experience, which means they ought to at least have an idea what governing a country entails. Their term in office will in principle be short due to the early elections of February 26, but – especially under the current circumstances – a further delay in going back to the polls cannot be excluded, as recent history also indicates.
It’s anyhow a good thing that a Council of Ministers with majority backing in Parliament is installed. This is what the democratic system calls for and the outgoing Government has already resigned, be it not before dissolving the legislature.
In fact, caretaker Ministers may normally only handle running affairs and not adopt new policies or make commitments with future consequences. Then again, signing the joint border control agreement was highly necessary and couldn’t be postponed because it’s one of the requirements to receive urgently-needed recovery assistance from the Netherlands.
The same goes for establishing the Integrity Chamber, with the draft ordinance now back at the Council of Advice after adjustments were made to satisfy the Dutch demands. Approving and proclaiming this law certainly should not have to wait until the new cabinet is appointed.
Another case in point is the roof repair project. One could argue that this is a new initiative, but considering the hardship many of those being targeted are facing, few would be against starting the work as soon as possible.
At the same time, the criteria for such must be objective and crystal-clear. Friday’s press release, for example, failed to mention insurance coverage, so it’s very important to execute the programme in a well-prepared manner and not too hastily.
