Parties in the House of Representatives are shocked by reports that a Dutch political party has also been bribed by Russian politicians. Groups want clarification from the Dutch security services, Prime Minister Mark Rutte speaks of a ‘very worrying’ trend of influence by Russia, but he does not yet confirm the bribery.
Minister Hugo de Jonge of the Interior (CDA) will send a letter to the House of Representatives as soon as possible, he promised before the start of the Council of Ministers. He did hint that the Dutch intelligence services have also been receiving signals of foreign interference for some time.
Parties in the House of Representatives are asking for explanations and action from the cabinet and security services. According to the Czech secret services, various European political parties – including in the Netherlands – have been bribed by Russians affiliated with the Kremlin. Given the Russia-friendly texts, parties in parliament point to Forum leader Thierry Baudet, but he and PVV leader Geert Wilders deny accepting money from Russia.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Thursday morning that the reporting ‘shows how great the risk of foreign influence is’. “The Netherlands will do what is necessary and do everything to keep the democratic process afloat.” He would not confirm the Czechs’ claims, but did say: “This is very worrying.”
Minister Hugo de Jonge, now responsible for the AIVD, said that ‘the signal the Czechs have sent fits in with what the AIVD sees’. “Namely that Russia threatens our legal order. But I cannot and do not want to say what we know yet. We will first inform the House of Representatives.”
PVV leader Geert Wilders first wants to know whether it is ‘all correct’: “If this is true… that Moscow directly or indirectly pays politicians, then I want to know who they are.” Speaker of the House Martin Bosma thinks it is wise for the security services to look at the reports. “They are equipped for that, I would certainly welcome that.”
NSC leader Pieter Omtzigt wants the cabinet to ask the Czech services and government for an explanation: “I hope it is not correct, I say honestly. But there are concrete indications in the press, we have to request documents from the Czechs.”
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Omtzigt cannot answer the question of whether the Dutch security services should have been informed: “That is a relevant question, but I am also a member of the Secret Committee. And because I’m in there, I can’t tell you anything about it. That is why this must now be discussed publicly.” In the Secret Committee, party leaders of larger factions are regularly secretly updated by security services MIVD and AIVD.
Now that the reports from the Czech services are public, party leaders also want to discuss such information publicly, Omtzigt, Caroline van der Plas and SGP leader Chris Stoffer emphasize.
In this matter, parties mainly point to Forum for Democracy, GroenLinks-PvdA MP Jesse Klaver wants to know whether Baudet has been paid by the Russians. A debate about this completely went off the rails on Wednesday evening, after which Baudet threatened Klaver.
After a conversation with Bosma, Baudet acknowledged that he went too far when he threatened to ‘hit Jesse Klaver in the mouth’ because Klaver asked about Forum’s ties with Russia. “I allowed myself to be cheered on, I shouldn’t have said it,” the FvD leader said in a short video on X on Thursday.
Voice of Europe site down
The pro-Russian news site Voice of Europe has been inaccessible since the Czech Republic announced on Wednesday that it had closed down the Russian propaganda network behind the site. Since then, the platform has not posted anything on X, where it was previously very active. The Czech Republic says it has not taken Voice of Europe off the air and suspects an attack by opponents.
In any case, the site has not been shut down by the government, the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. A spokesperson is more likely to think of a DDoS attack. Attackers then flood a website with internet traffic so that it collapses.
The Czech government has imposed sanctions on the people behind the news site. According to Prague, the oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk is the driving force behind the propaganda. He is a former Ukrainian parliamentarian who was charged with high treason. He was transferred to Russia in a prisoner exchange. Medvedchuk is seen as a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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Tags: Politically shocked claim Russian money Netherlands Minister Jonge Dont naive Politics
