SGP leader Kees van der Steig is also leaving the Hague political party. He is the longest serving Member of Parliament. Van der Steijge was succeeded as party leader by Chris Stauffer.

25 years ago, van der Stay started as a Member of Parliament when he was 29 years old. In 2010 he succeeded Bas van der Vlis as party leader. Under his leadership the faction again grew from two to three seats.

Because of his extensive knowledge of the Constitution, the Dean of the House of Representatives is considered the “Constitutional Law Conscience” of the House of Representatives. He was also regularly asked about this role on talk shows.

He hates political games and likes to take a constructive stance. This led to the Small Grants Party being seen as an unofficial partner of tolerance during Rutte’s first and second governments.

Van der Steijs’ successor, Chris Stauffer, has been an MP for the Socialist Workers’ Party for five years. Previously, he was Director of Network Management at Rijkswaterstaat. In the three-member parliamentary group, he focuses on finance, economic affairs, climate, environment, infrastructure, social affairs and defence.

Current president Dion Grosse recently said in a debate that Stouffer may look like a Labradoodle, but is actually a “real dog,” who bites into something and never lets go.

As a core Member of Parliament, he mentioned the disadvantaged situation of the single-earners (the breadwinners) and Sunday’s rest as his spearheads. In 2019 he spoke at the Forum for Democracy Youth Day. He was then applauded for his plea: “Let us restore Holland to a Christian nation”.

There is no question of a radical renewal with the arrival of Stouffer as the new face of SGP. Van der Staij will turn 55 in September, and Stauffer will turn 49 exactly one week later.