D66 and lying as a trademark – from CV fraud to shower tokens in Afghanistan

The minority cabinet of Rob Jetten has only just begun, and already scandals are coming thick and fast. The so-called “centrist party” does not seem able to restore trust in Dutch politics. The low point in this soap series we call Dutch politics came from D66 minister Elanor Boekholt-O’Sullivan, who in a short time managed to sweep away her fledgling authority with radical statements and falsehoods. That bodes well for the coming years, if she manages to last that long in the cabinet.

Administrative crisis and election promises D66 went into the elections with the slogan “it is possible.” With this, the party responded to the Netherlands’ biggest crisis: the administrative crisis. Problems surrounding migration, housing, climate and nitrogen policy, and the economy have led to increasingly alarming statistics in recent years. Last year even saw a record low: only 4 percent of respondents had confidence in politics.

Binnenhof The Hague

People were and still are desperate for change and breakthroughs. There is a felt need for vitality in Dutch politics to move beyond entrenched positions, egos, and ideological narrow-mindedness, and to restore the orderly and stable governance for which the country was long known.

When Jetten posed with a Dutch flag during the campaign, a significant portion of the electorate seemed to believe that he and thus D66, would take a different, more patriotic course. According to this group, Jetten would restore order and bring in high-quality administrators.

Scandals and credibility Unfortunately for Jetten and those who somewhat naively trusted him, this image quickly took a hit when prospective D66 state secretary Nathalie van Berkel had to withdraw before she could even begin. She had lied about her CV, and not just a little. Her CV claimed she was pursuing a master’s degree in public administration at Leiden University. In reality, it concerned a vocational (HBO) program and an incomplete admission track for a university master’s. I fear that, as a former member of the UWV board, she may have taken UWV tips about “upgrading” her CV a bit too literally.

A bigger crack seems to be forming now that D66 Minister of Housing Elanor Boekholt-O’Sullivan gave a controversial interview to the British newspaper The Guardian.

In that interview, she did not present an inspiring vision for a better future for the Netherlands. On the contrary: her only message was that the Dutch must accept sacrifices, particularly in housing quality. “Houses need to be built, that is the primary need right now. Luxury takes time, and we don’t have that.”

Housing crisis and minister’s statements The minister is right that there is a significant housing shortage, but she does not dare to honestly acknowledge that nitrogen regulations, partly imposed by D66, have kept the Netherlands locked for years in housing construction as well as in industry and agriculture, or that the country needs so many homes partly because mass migration has not been stopped. In fact, the asylum registration centre in Ter Apel reported the highest number of asylum seekers in 1.5 years just last week. Given the negative birth rate in the Netherlands, it cannot be denied that this has a major impact on social services, including housing.

To make matters worse, the minister supported her argument by referring to her military background. As the highest-ranking female officer in the Dutch army (albeit without actual combat experience), she cited her experiences during a deployment in Afghanistan:“When I was in Afghanistan, you got a token for a shower and a token to call home. And if your token ran out but you hadn’t washed your hair yet, you were out of luck, because then the water was gone.”

According to Boekholt-O’Sullivan, this gave her the credibility to argue that the Dutch must accept a significant reduction in prosperity:“We cannot continue as we are now, with the idea that everyone can always buy new appliances and use them all day whenever they want.”

Doubts about reliability and the future To make matters worse, her story about the tokens turned out not to be true. It may make for a good story, but it further undermines the minister’s credibility. This raises the question: can she remain in office with so little credibility?

Despite the soap-opera-like quality of it all, the saddest conclusion is that in 2026 this is still the low standard of leadership expected to guide the Netherlands through major geopolitical, economic, and domestic challenges. I fear for the country.

Wish us luck, as neighbouring Belgians, because we need it badly in the Netherlands. I fear this will not be the last scandal and that it is merely a sign of the disastrous level of our politics, and more broadly of our societal vitality. As a hopeful closing note, however, it at least leaves plenty of room for new people to fill the sorrowful political gap that D66 represents in the future.

Daniel de Liever is an editor at NieuwRechts and writes for various media outlets, including The European Conservative and Junge Freiheit, on cultural and political themes.

Image credits: Michael Foutset via Unsplash