It's Time for a Minister of Digital Affairs
The social benefits scandal was not an isolated policy failure—it exposed a deeper systemic crisis. For many Dutch citizens and politicians, it shattered the belief that the welfare state would protect the vulnerable. Instead, what emerged was a punitive, opaque bureaucracy where compassion had been replaced by automated suspicion. People were wrongly labeled as fraudsters, pushed into financial ruin, and left without recourse.
This wasn’t a freak occurrence. The Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry made that clear in its final report: “The underlying patterns are still present. [...] Another scandal could happen at any time.” One of the structural causes they identified was IT. The word “IT” appears 92 times in their report, and not by accident. Outdated digital systems turned administrative errors into long-term disasters. One example: delays of up to five years in processing surcharge corrections, leaving people to repay tens of thousands of euros—debts they never should’ve had in the first place.
The core problem is fragmentation. There is no central authority over government IT. Ministries and implementing agencies operate their own systems, on their own terms. This leads to siloed databases, duplicated infrastructure, and platforms that can’t talk to each other. Both citizens and civil servants get trapped in a digital tangle that no one oversees.
This problem can’t be fixed with marginal tweaks or minor budget increases. During this cabinet formation process, parties must recognize the urgency: we need a single point of accountability for government IT. In 2022, the Netherlands appointed a State Secretary for Digitalization. Symbolically important, but structurally ineffective. The role lacks the authority to enforce alignment or make binding decisions across ministries.
That’s why it’s time for a Minister of Digital Affairs. This minister would act as the executive owner of public digital infrastructure. All large IT projects—regardless of department—would require this minister’s approval. This enables cross-departmental coordination, enforces infrastructure standards, and protects critical upgrades from being delayed by political noise. The savings potential is enormous: in 2022, the tax authority spent nearly €850 million just to keep legacy systems running.
The minister would also play a preventive role. Most major government IT projects today run over budget and past deadline. The system supporting the Environmental Act launched years late and €1 billion over budget. Research from bodies like the Bureau ICT-Toetsing shows why this happens: technical problems are ignored at the start, warnings from IT professionals are dismissed, and the system only reacts once failure is inevitable.
A Minister of Digital Affairs—backed by a team of independent technical experts—could intervene before projects begin. They could demand evidence of technical feasibility, challenge unrealistic timelines, and ensure that institutional knowledge is reused instead of ignored. This kind of due diligence would prevent billions in waste and improve the delivery of basic public services.
This proposal isn’t radical. Other countries have already done it. Denmark and Estonia both have senior officials with full control over digital infrastructure. These positions have helped modernize government, improve service delivery, and reduce long-term costs.
The Dutch government can’t afford to stumble from one IT failure to the next. Productivity in the public sector has declined by 14% in recent years, in large part because of delays and dysfunction caused by failing digital systems. The digital state is now a liability—unless we make it someone’s job to fix it.
The first step: appoint a Minister of Digital Affairs. But don’t give the role to a career administrator or legal specialist. Appoint someone with deep IT experience and an understanding of governance. This is not just about technology. It’s about restoring trust in government—and avoiding the next scandal.