First female councilor Staphorst: ‘Municipality is ready’

Herriët Brinkman, party leader of the CDA in the municipal elections, will become Staphorst’s first female alderman. “The municipality is ready,” she says in conversation with RTV East.

Staphorst is known as one of the most conservative church communities in the Netherlands. There has always been the idea that the man is the head of the woman and that therefore the woman should not be active in politics.

Still, according to Brinkman, it is no surprise that there is now also a female alderman in her municipality. Twelve years ago she became the first woman to sit on the municipal council, together with Liesbert Lubberink (PvdA). “That’s how we cleared the path for more women and now there are four of us.”

To trust

She sees the councilorship as a logical next step after twelve years and she feels all the support in this. “I have heard from other fellow councilors, including the SGP, that they are happy with it and have confidence in it. So that’s good,” she says.

The CDA, the SGP and ChristenUnie, together accounting for fourteen of the seventeen seats in the city council, are sitting around the table to negotiate a coalition program. “In the coming weeks we will first form. Write the coalition agreement. And then it is up to the aldermen to get to work,” said Brinkman. Is it already starting to itch a bit? “Absolutely. I’m really looking forward to it.”

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