Jetten, Paternotte or Ollongren: who will succeed Sigrid Kaag? Related Articles

Rob Jetten: From ‘Robot Jetten’ to Popular ‘Climate Drama’

Current climate and energy minister, former leader of the D66 party in the House of Representatives, where he succeeded former party leader Alexander Pechtold in 2018. When he took office, he was very script-oriented towards journalists , which quickly earned him the nickname “Robot Jetten”.

That image quickly changed: Jetten managed to profile himself within D66 primarily on climate policy. This made him popular within the party. Former VVD party chairman Klaas Dijkhoff accused it of being a “climate drama”, Jetten took on the nickname as a nickname. He is well positioned in his party’s base: 65% of D66 voters think he has become an “acceptable party leader,” EenVandaag said last week.

Jan Paternotte: he still doesn’t say no

He was brought to the House of Representatives by the Amsterdam city council in 2017, incidentally, at the same time as then fellow councilor Dilan Yeşilgöz (VVD). The general public got to know him as a corona spokesman, in parliamentary debates on the approach to the corona crisis. In 2022, he assumed the party presidency of D66.

Even Paternotte is happy at the party. He didn’t want to anticipate any interest in leading the roster at the WNL on Thursday morning, though he couldn’t rule it out. However, the smile on his face when the host asks him if he’s thought about it was very telling.

Kajsa Ollongren: racing driver, but tainted by ‘function elsewhere’

Kent Paternotte also from her time in Amsterdam, where she was alderman and also briefly deputy mayor. Before that, you worked for a long time as the general secretary, the highest official in the Ministry of General Affairs. He knows Rutte well also for that role: in his first years as premier, the two worked a lot together. In 2017, she returned to politics in The Hague, as Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister.

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As minister he had to abolish the consultative referendum, which sparked some criticism from some D66 members. After the 2021 election, she managed to delay government formation as a scout for months, after being photographed with the infamous ‘position Omtzigt function elsewhere’ note. In the new cabinet you have been entrusted with an important role as defense minister: a month and a half after you took office, Russia invaded Ukraine.

Hans Vijlbrief: the man of the problematic files

He was rushed to The Hague when State Secretary Menno Snel had to resign over the subsidies affair. Together with Alexandra van Huffelen, he had to work to resolve the benefits issue, over which the entire cabinet eventually resigned.

In a subsequent cabinet he was handed a new problem file: as State Secretary for Mines, it was up to him to resolve the earthquake damage in Groningen. This made him popular in Groningen: in all criticisms of the Groningen policy he was often spared, his involvement in gas management was appreciated.

In the next elections, however, he will have an important role in the party: as newly appointed chairman of the electoral program committee, he will leave an important mark on the upcoming electoral program of the D66.

Sander Schimmelpenninck: big surprise?

He is a journalist, entrepreneur and columnist for de Volkskrant. A spot on D66’s roster isn’t a given, though a cryptic tweet from Schimmelpenninck and D66 on Wednesday, just hours before Kaag announced his departure, seemed to suggest so. Over a photo of Schimmelpenninck and Kaag, he wrote that after a “good conversation” he wants to “work for a democratic Netherlands”.

Schimmelpenninck is no stranger to the party at all: he spoke at the D66 congress in May. Incidentally, he has always said in the past that he doesn’t want to get into politics. In January, he repeated it at Jinek’s table: the ‘negative consequences’ of the policy, in the form of social media and threats, are too great, according to him.