GroenLinks is withdrawing hands from the loan system
GroenLinks leader Jesse Klaver, like fellow party member Zihni Özdil, turns against the loan system. 'It is clear that this system is not working properly', he writes in an email to his supporters. He does not yet have an alternative.
The GroenLinks party chairman interrupts his paternity leave to clarify the party's position on the loan system. He feels compelled to do so after Member of Parliament Özdil last Saturday in Loyalty distanced himself from 'the rotten system'. According to him, "a feudal system undermines everything that democracy and civilization stand for."
Unruly
With that statement, Özdil deliberately went against the party line. Klaver was still at the basis of the introduction of the social loan system in 2014. In it, the basic grant was abolished, billions in investments in education were released, the supplementary grant went up and the reimbursement became more social, the parliamentary group chairman recalls in the letter to his supporters.
And that's true on paper. But the practice turns out to be more unruly,' he continues. "Fair politics demands that you speak up when a plan doesn't work." He admits that the government is not keeping its promises about the quality and accessibility of higher education. According to Klaver, the loan system causes borrowing anxiety, stress and problems with the flow.
Course change
A better system is therefore needed, says the GroenLinks leader. But what's the alternative? "I can't answer that question right now," he wrote. He will return to it next month, after discussions within the party.
With this change of direction, GroenLinks joins government parties CDA and ChristenUnie, which have always been against the loan system. Within the opposition, only the PvdA is still in favor.
