ANPPresident of Parliament Bergkamp in May with the Central Government Annual Financial Report
NOS News•today, 14:36•Edited today, 15:02
Speaker of the House of Representatives Vera Bergkamp will not return as a Member of Parliament after November. On X (formerly Twitter) she says that she will not seek re-election. Bergkamp has been in the House of Representatives for D66 for eleven years. She has been President of the House since March 2021. Her presidency will therefore also come to an end after the elections.
In an explanation she writes that a new political phase is dawning. “That’s why I think it’s time for something new for me now.” Bergkamp adds that she already informed her party on July 26 that she does not want to return. She emphasizes that she became chairman in a turbulent time and that under her leadership more has been invested in supporting MPs. Also, the moods are now at more predictable times, she writes.
Social safety
Bergkamp adds that working on social safety is now high on the agenda and that it is important that complaints from civil servants about an unsafe working atmosphere are taken seriously. “In case of serious signals, as in any organization, this should also be able to lead to an independent investigation.”
The latter seems to be a reference to the investigation that the Executive Board of the House of Representatives has launched into possible transgressive behavior by former President of the House of Representatives Arib. The way in which the executive board, and Bergkamp in particular, approached that investigation was criticized from many quarters.
Low confidence in politics
In her explanation, Bergkamp also points out that confidence in politics is low and that this hurts her, because she sees how hard MPs work. “With love for the content and craftsmanship.”
She adds that the criticism cannot be ignored. “After the boundary in terms of manners in the debate had moved for years, fortunately we have drawn a line in the sand together.” She asks for “in-depth reflection and perhaps further adjustment of our culture and working method. I hope that the next House of Representatives will allow itself that space.”
Before Bergkamp became chairman, she spoke as a Member of Parliament about, among other things, long-term care and family law. Before that, she was chairman of the LGBT interest organization COC and director at the Social Insurance Bank.
2023-08-24 12:36:09
#Chamber #president #Vera #Bergkamp #D66 #return #elections
