PVV MP Beertema quits out of dissatisfaction with low place on the list

ANPHarm Beertema

NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 19:22

PVV MP Harm Beertema will not return after the elections. He has withdrawn from the list because party leader Geert Wilders has put him in sixteenth place for the second time. He thinks that is too low. “For me, the conclusion is that the PVV does not sufficiently appreciate my input, in fact, it can actually do without it,” he wrote in a statement.

Beertema has been part of the PVV faction for 13 years, where he mainly speaks on education issues. He was also in the classroom for many years. He deeply regrets the lack of appreciation he feels. “We have grown too far apart in terms of content and matters that affect the party organization,” he concludes.

With most other parties, candidates can still try to get a higher place on the list through their members, but with the PVV, Geert Wilders is the one who has the final say. He is also the only member of the party.

Beertema will remain a Member of Parliament until November 22, but he will no longer automatically follow the party line when voting, he said.

He is the fourth veteran of the PVV to leave in a short time. Earlier this month, Machiel de Graaf announced that he will not return and that he has retrained as a trauma therapist. Justice spokesperson Lilian Helder switched to the BBB this month. Sietse Fritsma has also announced that he will stop after November 22.

Newcomer on three

Wilders has made public the list of candidates this evening, which he himself heads. It contains many well-known names who are already in the House of Representatives. Newcomer at number three is Rachel van Meeteren from Brabant, an independent entrepreneur with poffertjes stalls at fairs and events.

René Claassen is at number six. He is the leader of the PVV in Limburg. It is also striking that Marjolein Faber, currently group leader in the Senate and the states of Gelderland, wants to switch to the House of Representatives. She is in seventh place.

“It is a wonderful list of experienced and new candidates. I am very proud of it,” says Wilders. He is counting on a “fantastic election result”.

After Helder switched, the PVV has sixteen seats in the House of Representatives. In the latest Polling Guide of September 16, the party has twelve to sixteen seats.

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