The NSC election program is primarily about better governance

The government in the Netherlands is “broken” and something must change quickly, according to the New Social Contract (NSC). During the presentation of the election manifesto, Time for recovery, Party leader Pieter Omtzigt said that the current administrative culture has caused major problems, such as the benefits affair and the earthquake damage in Groningen.

“The most important thing is the restoration of the administrative order in the Netherlands,” Omtzigt said. If nothing changes, problems will continue to arise, he thinks. And then people continue to “disengage from politics and sometimes completely from Dutch society”.

That is why NSC wants, among other things, to establish a constitutional court, where people can have their rights tested against the Constitution. He also wants a regional electoral system, just like a law on government supervision. Whistleblowers must also be better protected.

Omtzigt said in his explanation that he was hopeful, because other parties also say they consider better governance important:

The election manifesto of the new party, who is doing well in the polls, has eighty pages. After changing the administrative culture, social security is the most important topic. This includes combating food poverty. NSC also believes that basic facilities such as energy and care should be accessible to everyone.

Furthermore, NSC wants migration to be significantly reduced. There must be a two-status system in which a difference is made between asylum seekers who come here temporarily, for example in connection with a war, and people who want to settle here for a longer period of time because they are being persecuted because of, for example, their orientation or their political or religious beliefs. .

The net migration, or the number of newcomers minus the number of people leaving the Netherlands, may not exceed 50,000 per year. In addition to asylum seekers, this also concerns foreign students and labor migrants. This is a guide number, says Omtzigt. “If you go beyond that, you have to implement additional policies.”

The party also wants to ensure that there are sufficient homes available. Housing associations must build 350,000 homes in the coming years. That is more than the current government wants. The party also wants rent increases and NSC is considering, just like in the past, building residential areas for employees of certain large companies.

New Social Contract (NSC) wants to take a different approach to nitrogen policy. “With common sense and an eye for all interests,” Omtzigt said at the presentation. He wants the current nitrogen law to be scrapped. In addition, attention must be paid mainly to emissions (emissions) and much less to where the nitrogen ends up (deposition). However, the livestock herd must become smaller.

“There is no way this can all be done within four years,” Omtzigt said. “What was destroyed in fifteen or twenty years cannot be repaired in such a short time.” He does think that people will notice some changes in the administrative culture in the coming years, if his party takes control.