When the results came out, you heard nothing at all. No shouts of joy or sighs of disappointment, no surprised oohs and aahs. Silence. As if the more than five hundred Christian Union members realized on Saturday at the party conference in Zwolle: no emotion is really appropriate.
Because, it was said continuously: it is about people. To be precise about number nine on the candidate list, Stieneke van der Graaf. A few weeks ago, the Member of Parliament was, to her own disappointment, placed in an ineligible position for the elections by the party board. This was met with great resistance: local departments, councillors, aldermen and members of Parliament thought it was unheard of for an ‘experienced politician’ to simply be dismissed.
Members from northern provinces in particular rebelled against the low position of the Groningen MP. They submitted an amendment to move her from ninth to fifth place on the electoral list. That proposal received massive support from the usually law-abiding CU supporters, who rarely oppose the administrative top. In total, almost six hundred members joined.
An awkward silence
The ‘battle’ for fifth place has caused tension within the smallest coalition party in recent weeks. No one dared to predict the outcome. When it appeared on the screens of the Nieuwe Buitensociëteit in Zwolle on Saturday, where the CU held its election conference, any doubt was removed: 60 percent voted against, so Van der Graaf remains in ninth place.
With that denouement, many CU members were unable to show any attitude and an expectant silence went through the room. “Everyone feels a little discomfort,” the chairman noted. “Shall we therefore take the hands of the people sitting next to you?”
Acceptance
But the tension remained. You also saw that with the leading actors. When the percentages appeared on the screen, Van der Graaf initially didn’t move a muscle. Then she followed the manual for worthy losers: nodding, smiling, the look of scolding acceptance.
In the afternoon, however, it became clear that the Groningen politician was not unaffected. “This was a sincere initiative by the members,” said Van der Graaf movingly. “I really appreciate that.”
The current number five on the CU list, Joëlle Gooijer, also spoke about an ‘exciting’ period. If the amendment had been adopted, the Delft councilor would have had to immediately relinquish her newly elected seat. She found it a ‘complicated’ process, Gooijer said. “Because it is not directed against me, but indirectly it is of course about me.”
Do not ignore the signal
In any case, the Christian Union party leadership will breathe a sigh of relief. There was great dissatisfaction at the top about the amendment, and the submitters were even asked to withdraw the proposal – to no avail. Moreover, in a week and a half, more than six hundred CU members supported the amendment, making the chance of success seem high. To everyone’s surprise, only 330 members ultimately voted in favor at the party conference.
And now? On Saturday, Van der Graaf did not comment on whether she still wants to obtain a seat in Parliament through preferential voting. However, it is clear that the political top cannot simply ignore the signal from northern party members. “I heard well from Groningen what is going on there,” said party leader Mirjam Bikker afterwards. “We know that and we are going to work on it.”
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The Christian Union wants to ‘demolish neoliberalism from national government’
According to the Christian Union, families and communities are essential for a healthy society, and this requires a stronger and larger government. In the election manifesto, the party advocates, among other things, a minimum wage of 18 euros.
2023-09-30 15:27:00
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