Jul 14, 2023 at 12:21 Update: 22 minutes ago
Carola Schouten, outgoing deputy prime minister on behalf of the ChristenUnie, is also leaving national politics after the formation of a new cabinet.
She will not be on the list of the ChristenUnie for the parliamentary elections. If her party participates in a new cabinet, she will not become a minister either.
“After twelve intense years I will leave politics,” says Schouten in a press release. “There is a new generation ready and I know that the ChristenUnie is in good and trusted hands there.” She is “wonderful of what’s to come”.
With the announced departure of Schouten, the entire top of the fallen Rutte IV cabinet will soon say goodbye. Outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Deputy Prime Ministers Sigrid Kaag (D66) and Wopke Hoekstra (CDA) already announced this week that they would not return after the formation of a new cabinet.
Schouten guided pension law through parliament
Schouten has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2011. She became a Member of Parliament after André Rouvoet resigned. In the first years, Schouten was involved in social affairs, employment and higher education, among other things. She quickly emerged as a talent within the group.
In 2017, Schouten became Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and Deputy Prime Minister in Rutte’s third cabinet. She was confronted with the nitrogen crisis and farmers’ protests.
Since last year she is once again Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Poverty Policy, Participation and Pensions. This year, as a minister, she got the pension law through parliament. It is one of the biggest reforms since World War II. The law came about after years of debate and negotiation.
The ChristenUnie is “intensely grateful” to Schouten for its efforts. “In the most difficult work in The Hague and during the toughest negotiations, Carola always led the way on behalf of the ChristenUnie. She did so with great skill, integrity, political ingenuity and a warm heart,” says former party chairman Gert-Jan Segers.
2023-07-14 11:24:59
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