GroenLinks leader Jesse Klaver will not lead the joint list of candidates of his party and the PvdA in the upcoming elections. The politician wants to make way for a new face, he said in an interview with the AD.

“If you start a new combination, it must also be led by someone new,” Klaver said in the newspaper. He stated that he “would have loved” to be party leader but that it ultimately seemed “unwise” to him. “For me, the cooperation between GroenLinks and PvdA symbolizes that politicians can finally step over their own interests for once. Sticking to your party’s political interests has long held back progress. I hope my step gives voters confidence that we are truly willing to put aside our personal ambitions for something greater.”

Klaver said he would make himself available “to make the GroenLinks-PvdA combination a success.” That means that “if the party so desires,” he’ll take a place on the electoral list.

Jetten has two competitors for D66 leader

D66 candidate leader Rob Jetten has at least two competitors. Ton Visser and Wassila Hachchi are also making a bid for the party leadership. This is Visser’s fourth time participating. Hachchi has one mission: to abolish political parties and reintroduce independent representatives of the people.

D66 members have until July 27 to register if they want to become a candidate for party leader or are interested in representing the D66 in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament. Candidate party leaders need 249 statements of support from D66 members. Jetten is already assured of this, said a spokesperson for the party.

Hachchi was a D66 parliamentarian from mid-2010 to the end of January 2016. She then unexpectedly left for the United States, in her own words, to help with Hilary Clinton’s election campaign. Her sudden departure caused considerable commotion within her party. Hachchi canceled her membership later that year but rejoined in 2018.

“I aspire for change,” Hachchi said to ANP. “I registered as a candidate for political leader with one mission: to abolish political parties and reintroduce independent representatives of the people.” She called political parties “democratic dictators” who are hierarchical and focused on power.

D66 is pre-eminently the party that can try to achieve this, said Hachchi. She believes that the D66 should be dissolved as soon as the party has attained the reintroduction of independent parliamentarians.

She does not dare to predict whether her mission will receive enough statements of support and whether she can run for party leader. “I am now focusing first on collecting statements of support.” At the end of Tuesday afternoon, her counter stood at 30.

Visser is a taxi driver and lives in China. When he took on Sigrid Kaag three years ago, Visser received 3 percent of the vote.

Registration closes at noon on July 27. If the candidates meet the requirements, they will be presented to the members as candidate leader. Members can vote digitally between 2 and 9 August. There will be a digital introduction of the candidates on August 3. On August 12, the D66 will announce its party leader for the upcoming elections.

Reporting by ANP