Commissioner of the King Drenthe: sorry for statement about BBB

"I shouldn't have used the word 'misery'," says Klijnsma. "I apologize to the residents of Drenthe who feel unheard by my statement."

The former State Secretary had said at the GroenLinks-PvdA congress on Saturday that the lack of management experience among the BBB'ers in her province is 'really causing misery'. The BBB reacted angrily. Party leader Caroline van der Plas said she was 'deeply affected' and the Drenthe faction called this statement 'unacceptable'.

Shocked

The 68-year-old Klijnsma apologized to Van der Plas on Sunday and did so again in a statement on Monday. She spoke to the faction on Tuesday, who then indicated that confidence in Klijnsma as chair of the Provincial States 'has been seriously damaged'. Klijnsma says she is shocked by this. "I understand that the BBB faction is upset and that this affects them personally."

Watch the video with the apology here: