ChristenUnie leader Mirjam Bikker wants to be the leader of her party in the parliamentary elections in November. She says so in an interview with Trouw. She still doesn’t want to say whether she sees ChristenUnie participating in a government coalition again. “But I’m not here for the cuddly toy.”
Bikker took over leadership of the party from Gert-Jan Segers in January. Under his leadership, the ChristenUnie entered a cabinet twice together with VVD, D66 and CDA. Bikker still supports the choice to continue this collaboration, but he is critical. “It was a marriage of convenience. Those aren’t the best marriages, apparently.”
The cabinet fell a week and a half ago as the parties failed to agree on a tougher approach to asylum. The VVD in particular wanted to do more to stem the influx, but their proposal to limit the right to family reunification for war refugees went too far for the ChristenUnie.
ChristenUnie will in no case cooperate with the PVV or the Forum for Democracy on a national level. “It’s not appropriate for me to form a coalition with such parties,” says Bikker. He has already expressed his unease that his party mates in Flevoland have entered the provincial government together with the PVV.
Source: BNR
Fernando Dowling is an author and political journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. He has a deep understanding of the political landscape and a passion for analyzing the latest political trends and news.
