Through Mirjam Bikker on 31 March 2023 at 21:48Reaction to cabinet letter after election results: is the government there for everyone? As a country, we face major challenges: people who cannot find a home, people who used to be able to make ends meet and now can barely make ends meet, people who wonder whether 'their' government is there for them, who doubt whether there is an eye for what is needed in their neighborhood, their region, their province.

The last elections underlined this once again and we must all take that signal seriously: politics must be there for the people, the government must come up with working solutions to today's problems. Whether it concerns Groningen, the victims of allowances, facilities throughout the country: people must experience that the government is close by and comes up with good solutions with them that actually help them. One of the current problems is the nitrogen problem. We have to work to take better care of nature and that can't wait. And we should not do this from the Hague or European drawing board, but in practice, close by, at the 'kitchen table', together with the sectors that contribute to this. This certainly applies to farmers, who are working with nature organisations and Minister Piet Adema on an agricultural agreement. This also applies to the provinces and the new provincial governments, which have an important role in working on nature restoration and reducing nitrogen emissions. It is therefore good that the government is now getting to work and continues to seek contact with the farmers and the provinces and at all times together with them to see what is needed to take better care of nature.