The Open Secret

10

Three months into its term, the coalition almost implodes.

It begins, as most crises seem to, with a classic Mark Rutte memory lapse. A cabinet minister is accused of being complicit in a large-scale embezzlement scheme masterminded by someone in the State Attorney's office and subsequently resigns. Rutte, in typical Rutte fashion, denies ever having been warned of any suspicions against the minister, which is found to be false by an inquiry that follows.

Once, Rob remembers Jesse jokingly calling the man the 'Rutte of all evil.' As the scandal breaks in the press and the coalition dissolves into mayhem, he can't help but think how right he was.

The damage is less about the scandal itself and more about the old wounds it reopens among coalition partners, culminating in somewhat of a battle royale between party leaders and their deputies in a conference room a few days later. Rob mostly stays out of the fray but watches the bullets whizz by from his seat at the table with a sick feeling in his stomach. Jesse remains calm at first, his silence like a loaded gun, before losing his cool half an hour in and shooting to his feet across the table from Rutte just as the other man finishes denying everything once more.

"You know what, this is insulting," he fumes, upper lip curled into a sneer. He never yells, never speaks overly loudly in confrontation at all, but the intensity of his stare alone makes Rob shift in his seat. "Do you honestly think we're all naive? If your memory is as bad as it seems to be, I recommend seeing a doctor. First the benefits scandal, then Omtzigt. Now, this. My party isn't going to support someone who lies over and over as if he just assumes he'll get away with it-"

"So what, Mr. Klaver?" Rutte replies calmly, as made of Teflon as ever. He doesn't rise along with him, and the lack of respect isn't lost on Rob. "You'll withdraw GreenLeft's support over this? If that's the case, then I don't believe I'm the naive one here."

Sigrid, always the mediator, tries to step in, but Rob can tell even she is more frantic than usual. D66 has been placed in a peacekeeper role since the coalition's inception, running interference between the left-wing and right-wing parties they had united, and it's beginning to weigh on both of them.

"Look, emotions are high right now. Acting impulsively is always a mistake. Let's adjourn and come back tomorrow. We all want this coalition to work-"

"Do we?" Jesse cuts in. "If we want this coalition to work, we need him to step down. Our country needs stability, competent leadership, and it isn't getting it with him in charge-"

"Oh, and then what?" Wopke Hoekstra chimes in from the corner, where he's largely spent the past half hour spectating. He looks amused by Jesse, more than anything. "We clear the way for you to be prime minister? We all know it's what you want. If you withdraw your support over this, you'll make it clear to the country that you're nothing more than a petulant child who throws his toys when he doesn't get his way. Although I think everyone here knew that already."

The room devolves into an unintelligible rabble after that, before people begin to storm out and peel off. Jesse is among them, and Rob watches him go but doesn't follow at first, remaining by Sigrid's side as Rutte approaches her with a baleful glare. He doesn't hear everything he says, only managing to catch his last words as he begins to step away.

"You're the one who strongarmed us into bringing them in," he hisses under his breath. To her credit, Sigrid remains perfectly stoic, with her chin raised and eyes pointed straight ahead. "Fix it."

Rob doesn't have to ask to know that this means he'll need to fix it. One look at Sigrid confirms his suspicions, and once she nods, he sets off in the direction of Jesse's office, as much the loyal soldier as ever. He is almost too exhausted to feel anxious, beaten down by days of internal squabbles and hounding by the press. The bags under his eyes hang as dark as shadows. If he stops moving for a single second, he thinks he might fall asleep on his feet. He isn't sure he'll survive another formation if it comes to that, but he casts those thoughts aside as he comes to a stop in Jesse's doorway, knocking on the frame to alert him of his presence.