Asylum minister Marjolein Faber has blamed MPs for holding up her plans to cut refugee numbers by asking too many critical questions.

Faber faced criticism from the PVV’s coalition partners in the wake of party leader Geert Wilders’ press conference on Monday, in which he said the far-right party could withdraw from the coalition unless progress was made “within a few weeks”.

Faber hit back at her critics ahead of Wednesday’s cabinet meeting, which has been brought forward because of the Ascension Day holiday. “I can’t say that everyone is in a co-operative frame of mind,” she said.

She accused the VVD of causing a crisis in the asylum system after party leader Dilan Yesilgöz queried why Faber had not managed to implement the plans in the coalition agreement drawn up a year ago.

“You have a majority in parliament that wants to restrict asylum and a coalition agreement packed with measures and laws that have that effect,” Yesilgöz said. “I was trying to work out during the press conference who it was actually aimed at.”

“Rutte’s ruins”

Faber said: “The VVD are making too much of a song and dance about it. They were in charge of asylum for 10 years. The fact is we’re sitting on Rutte’s ruins,” she added, referring to the former VVD prime minister Mark Rutte.

She also accused the centre-right NSC party of “living in a paper reality” after its leader, Nicolien van Vroonhoven, said she was unwilling to renegotiate the coalition agreement.

Faber expressed surprise that she had had to field 800 questions from members of parliament about her asylum laws. “We need to make haste, but if I have to tackle almost 1,000 questions …”

Faber has clashed with her department’s civil servants, whose tasks include helping the minister reply to parliamentary questions, several times, most recently in a row over whether to give honours to volunteers who work with refugees.

“Strange words”

Ministers from the two coalition parties responded sharply to Faber’s remarks. VVD Green Growth minister Sophie Hermans described them as “not chic” and called for the cabinet to focus on finding solutions, while NSC home affairs minister Judith Uitermark called them “strange words”.

Uitermark also queried why Wilders had given a press conference to demand changes to the cabinet’s policy. “If I have something to discuss, I do it directly,” she said.

“I’m here based on what’s in the main coalition agreement,” Uitermark added. “If changes are made I need to decide whether I support them.”