The NSC board has nominated outgoing Minister of Social Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister Eddy van Hijum as the lead candidate for the upcoming elections. It is ultimately up to the NSC members to decide who will lead the list.
Van Hijum’s name had already been circulating as a possible lead candidate. On Tuesday, the NSC board announced that it indeed wants Van Hijum.
Besides Van Hijum, at least one other candidate had come forward: Diederik Boomsma. He announced on Friday that he was interested in the position.
But if it is up to the board, Van Hijum will be the official successor to Nicolien van Vroonhoven. She announced on Saturday that she was not available for the lead candidacy. If she wanted to lead the campaign, she would have wanted to do so 100 percent. She cannot give that commitment now, she wrote in a statement on X.
Van Hijum is currently the outgoing Minister of Social Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister on behalf of the NSC. Van Hijum is considered a confidant of NSC founder Pieter Omtzigt, who left politics due to a persistent burnout. But during his ministerial term, he was on a collision course with the rest of the NSC faction regarding the controversial pension amendment of NSC Member of Parliament Agnes Joseph.
Previously, Van Hijum was a Member of Parliament and a member of the Provincial Executive for the CDA.
Upcoming elections a major challenge
In an explanation, Van Hijum says he “fervently” believes in restoring human scale and security of existence, the spearheads of his party. “In recent years, I have been able to serve the Netherlands as a Member of Parliament, a member of the Provincial Executive, and now as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Social Affairs. I take that experience with me. And I will continue to stand for substance, cooperation, and results.”
“Eddy was at the basis of our party and is able to further the NSC ideas, further develop them, and further expand our party,” according to the NSC board. According to chairman Kilian Wawoe, Van Hijum stands for “connection, reliability, and substance” in a “political landscape that is increasingly polarizing”.
NSC faces a major challenge in the upcoming elections. The party, currently holding twenty seats in Parliament, is polled at zero to two seats. Both Van Hijum and the NSC board say that the party “must work hard to regain the trust of the voters”.
It is ultimately up to the NSC members to decide who will lead the list. If Boomsma does not withdraw as a candidate, a lead candidate election will follow. It is not known whether other candidates have come forward besides Van Hijum and Boomsma.