Chagrijn at NSC: Sandra Palmen says goodbye to party but returns to cabinet under her own name

Resentment has arisen within NSC now that Sandra Palmen returns to the cabinet as Secretary of State. Palmen continues under her own banner: she disappears from the electoral list for the next election and cancels her NSC membership. NSC members believe that she is not loyal to her party members who just left the cabinet.

This article was written byTobias the Hartog and Elodie VerweijPublished on September 2, 2025, 1:15 PM

All NSC administrators left two weeks ago collective from the cabinet, after Minister Caspar Veldkamp felt opposed to his Gaza policy. Then-NSC Deputy Prime Minister Eddy van Hijum said it would “not have been credible” if his party's other ministers and state secretaries had stayed on.

However, Palmen did not attend the Council of Ministers that day. She only found out about the reasons in the evening and was “not convinced” that quitting was necessary. Other NSC administrators would also have doubts about this. “It was fiftyfifty,” said one person concerned. But the NSC members did not want Van Hijum to lose weight in front of the TV cameras.

According to insiders, Palmen contacted VVD and BBB in the following days to see if she could not go ahead after all. After all, she has built contacts with the parents who were victims of the benefits affair. In addition, the recovery operation is almost finished. Replacing her then would be a delay and someone would arrive who does not have such a relationship of trust with the parents. Indeed, Palmen was also a whistleblower in the issue when she was still involved in the affair as an official.

“Incredibly clumsy”

Palmen was told by the VVD that they wanted a restart, but the party still wanted to wait and see the debate about the NSC exit. Once that was over, the road was clear.

However, Palmen will continue under her own name: she will cancel her membership in NSC and will be removed from the electoral list for the upcoming Parliamentary elections. There she was in 7th place.

Within NSC, Palmen's return is causing chagrin. Party members don't think it's loyal of her. They speak of “bad news” that Palmen is returning, also because it once again reveals the divisions within NSC. “How do you get it done,” sighs an NSC member. “This looks so incredibly awkward.”

On top of that, she also did not inform her former party about her decision to return as Secretary of State. NSC had to hear about it from the media.