D66 MP Vera Bergkamp is the new parliamentary chairwoman
Vera Bergkamp hears she has won. Below Khadija Arib. Photo: Remco de Waal ANP
D66 MP Vera Bergkamp has won the vote to become the new chairwoman of the lower house of the Dutch parliament, beating sitting chairwoman Khadija Arib (PvdA) and deputy chairman Martin Bosma from the anti-Islam PVV.
Bergkamp took 74 out of 139 votes in the first round, with Arib on 38 and Bosma on 27.
In her acceptance speech, Bergkamp stressed that she would chair parliament on behalf of all parties.
‘We face an enormous task,’ she said, before going on to refer to the tax benefit scandal, the planned move of the lower house to a new location while the current building is renovated and the fact there are now 17 parties in parliament.
VVD continues to back Mark Rutte but coalition options are limited
Who will occupy the prime minister’s ‘torentje’ office? Photo: DutchNews.nl
A number of prominent VVD members have gone public with their support for beleaguered caretaker prime minister Mark Rutte, who is facing increasing isolation in The Hague after ‘forgetting’ he had suggested moving a critical MP to a ‘new role’.
Former ministers in Rutte-led governments, including Henk Kamp, Annemarie Jorritsma and Fred Teeven have all given their public backing to the prime minister, and there is no-one within the party who is publicly doubting his leadership, the NRC reported.
Dutch PM s party declared election winner prokerala.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from prokerala.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Photo: Judith Jockel/laif for ANP
Politicians, writers and members of religious groups have signed an online manifesto in support of a Dutch author of Turkish origin who has received death threats for her work.
Lale Gül, a 23-year-old author, has writen a debut novel called
Ik ga leven (I’m going to live my life) describing her strict Islamic upbringing in Amsterdam West and criticising many of the Turkish and Islamic traditions there.
It has provoked an extreme reaction on social media, including death threats, but also now a wave of support from prominent Dutch people.
‘In the Netherlands we make our own choices. We determine how to live, and with whom. You don’t have to earn your freedom, it’s yours in this country regardless of your background, origin, or faith. That includes Lale Gül,’ the manifesto reads.
Photo: ANP/Rob Engelaar
Ahead of the March general election, DutchNews.nl is interviewing a number of prominent MPs about their party’s policies. Today, Gordon Darroch talks to D66 MP Jan Patternotte.
The election campaign has been criticised for lacking drama, but one issue that still polarises views is dual nationality.
At one extreme the anti-immigration nationalist PVV, led by Geert Wilders, wants to strip dual nationals of the right to vote in national elections and recently said parliamentary chairman, Khadija Arib, should be removed because her Moroccan citizenship, which she cannot revoke, creates ‘the appearance of having a different loyalty’.