New choice of Minister of Education causes controversy

Last month, all ministers from the NSC party left the Dutch cabinet, leaving it to only two parties: VVD and BBB. One of these ministers was Eppo Bruins, who held the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. He will now be succeeded by 33-year-old Gouke Moes, from BBB.

"Honourable"
Moes has been a member of the Groningen Provincial Council since March. Prior to this position, he worked as a blacksmith and machine operator before switching to the education sector. Moes has taught English, technology, Physics and Chemistry. He was also a PIE (production, installation and energy) teacher.

In 2021, Moes joined BBB (Farmer-citizen movement) and became politically active. In 2023, he joined the Groningen Provincial Council, where he became a party leader. A few months ago, he became a member of the Provincial Executive. He is now moving to The Hague to serve as a caretaker Minister of Education, Culture and Science.

Moes calls it a tremendous honour "to be able to use this role for our education, our culture and science," according to a statement by BBB. "My heart lies with education, as I have been a teacher for years, and I am very excited to get started."

Rainbow path
A year ago, Moes tweeted about a rainbow bike path that had been defaced with swastikas, saying: "This is how polarisation works. It's a shame, a shame on both sides."

When someone on X asked which two sides he meant, he replied: "The side that decided that such a rainbow path should exist, completely ignoring (perhaps even provoking) the feelings of many young people, and the side that opposes it with swastikas."

This rubbed many people the wrong way. "His tweet equates a symbol of equality (rainbow) with a symbol of hatred (swastika)", wrote the parliamentary parties GroenLinks, CDA, Socialistische Partij, Partij voor de Dieren, Volt, PvdA, Partij vóór het Noorden and D66 in a joint statement. "We are shocked by this message and distance ourselves from it."

Understanding
Moes denied that he equated the rainbow with the swastika. "What I am saying is that if you want to move beyond polarisation, you must try to understand the other person. I was simply wondering whether this is the best way to combat polarisation, or the best way to further the LGBTIAQ+ movement. I think it's a shame that people are so far apart that this is happening."

Member of Parliament Lisa Westerveld (GroenLinks-PvdA) has already announced that she will be asking questions in Parliament now that Moes is becoming a minister. He will soon also be responsible for emancipation, including tackling LGBT discrimination.