In the debate on an FvD bill, D66 MP Jan Paternotte asked Baudet questions about Russian influence. The latter regarded this comment as ‘an insult to his honor’ and said that he would ‘slap someone in the mouth for this in any other situation’.
Chamber chairman Bosma found this comment acceptable, because he assessed it as a ‘reaction in a metaphorical sense’, but after the debate Baudet made threatening comments against Klaver. After the debate, Baudet had asked to send the annual reports of the Forum for Democracy Foundation, reports NRC. According to the GroenLinks-PvdA MP, Baudet then replied: “I’m not going to do that. And if you ask again, I’ll punch you in the face.”
These comments are ‘completely unacceptable’ for Bosma. ‘I cannot tolerate threats – in the plenary chamber, of all places. And although the Rules of Order do not provide for sanctions in response to threats or other objectionable behavior outside the meeting, this has certainly exceeded boundaries and standards of decency. It also damages the reputation of the House and politics.’
Klaver says it is good that Chamber President Bosma is taking this up so quickly. “Threats are unacceptable. In a democracy we resolve disagreements with words. The fact that Mr Baudet felt it necessary to issue a threat in our meeting room, the heart of Dutch democracy, is a low point,” said Klaver.
Paternotte points to X to a proposal submitted last year by him and Christian Union leader Mirjam Bikker to ban threats in the House of Representatives. “What you shout in the national meeting room is not without consequences. It encourages people to intimidate. And worse,” says Paternotte.
In recent years, there has been more commotion in parliament about the coarsening of both manners and language use.
Baudet is expected to meet the Speaker of the House at a quarter past nine on Thursday morning.
