Amsterdam - Disappointment among the Dutch political left and relief among the political right followed Thursday night's decision by Dutch integration minister Ella Vogelaar to step down. The decision was prompted by an intraparty dispute over registering juvenile immigrants from the Dutch Antilles in which she lost the backing of her party. She has also been plagued by clumsy performances on Dutch media, which routinely airs footage of her refusing to answer reporters' questions.
Vogelaar's post was created when the current governing coalition took over in February 2007. She was charged with reducing ethnic tensions and socio-economic problems in all major Dutch cities. However, her efforts to get public-private partnerships to invest in 40 urban neighbourhoods failed time and time again.
Pieter van Geel, faction leader of the Christian Democrats - the largest party in the coalition - was "surprised" Vogelaar stepped down.
Opposition leaders said Vogelaar's departure would be a boost to the country's integration efforts, but added that the ouster indicates the Labour party, which has traditionally been tolerant toward migrants and benefited from their political support, has now taken a more conservative line on immigration policy.
Mark Rutte, leader of the liberal VVD party called her departure "inevitable", adding Vogelaar had received "countless opportunities" but never succeeded to complete a project successfully. Similarly, Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders, who runs on a political platform critical of migrants and Islamic culture, said Vogelaar's departure was "a blessing for the country."
The leftist Greens noted it was "embarrassing" how Labour caused the fall of its own minister.
Dutch cities have changed dramatically in recent decades, following the influx of hundreds of thousands of migrants from non- Western countries. Meanwhile, many Dutch nationals have moved from the city to smaller towns.
As a result, between 30 to 40 per cent of the population in the Netherlands' five largest cities are migrants, causing a dramatic increase in socio-economic problems.
During Vogelaar's tenure, little has changed in any of the urban areas slated to become "neighbourhoods of pride".
Centrist and rightist parties said Vogelaar was "too soft" and "tolerant" towards migrants. Similar criticism came from her Labour party. Such statements only increased speculation that the party is giving up its traditionally-tolerant attitude toward migrants.
Vogelaar's clumsy performances in Dutch media and her repeated refusal to reply to journalists' questions made her position even more fragile.
Labour lost faith
