Thursday 13 April 2006

Lady Oddjob - From Irrevelance to Assimilation

Replacement is not enough
Poor Mrs Verdonk must be wondering what hit her, as the headlines seem to have shifted to more important things than some female running for the leadership of a major coalition partner in the Dutch government.
For all the vituperation and brickbats she has received for the way she has run the Ministry of Integration and Immigration portfolio, one would think any detractor would ask for her to be replaced.
It now transpires that certain people are not so much concerned for the person of the minister but the office of the ministry itself.
In what might be called a laudable example of integrated thinking by an immigrant alderman in Amsterdam; he suggested that better-focused ministries could so easily provide for the services Mrs Verdonk’s ministry provides.
Lost twin of a pair of briefs
Basically, the observation is that Mrs Verdonk has focused so much on immigration to the detriment of integration that she might as well be a second Justice Minister.
This is quite insightful because she has been in cahoots with the Justice ministry on many occasions where immigrant rights have been abused, ignored or overruled or pilloried for populist sake.
It is arguable that the minister needs re-education as to what her brief entails or she has performed to the expectation of making her brief irrelevant to our Dutch polity.
Our Lady Oddjob is definitely now at odds with her brief.
No balance just sway
If the thrust of the ministry has grown lop-sided to favour broadly one side of an intended balance of integrating immigrants, it makes sense that the functions of integration should go to the education or social affairs ministry.
There might be a case for putting immigration in the care of internal affairs whilst the justice ministry provides effective guidance in handling those matters.
Assimilate! Assimilate! Exterminate!
I could not agree more, the lady has polarised the general tasks of her remit as to obviate the need for her ministry, which in some cases has been an influence peddling forum for beating on the unfortunate.
This, one must say is a classic case of total fulfilment – the day immigration and integration brought forth assimilation.
This is just what they want every immigrant to become – assimilated – where better to start than at the ministry itself?

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