Six members of JA21, including MEPs Rob Ross and Rob Rockin, will leave the ceremony. Members are dissatisfied with how the party has developed and the nomination of Annabelle Nanninga to the House of Representatives. They announce their departure with a letter Ross placed on Medium X. There has been discontent in the party for some time over the lack of democracy.

In 2020, Nanninga was the founder of JA21, an offshoot of the Forum for Democracy, along with political leader Joost Eerdmans. On behalf of the new party, Nanninga currently serves as a senator, municipal councilor in Amsterdam, and regional councilor in North Holland. Three weeks ago, Nanninga announced that she wanted to be on the JA21 list in the upcoming House of Representatives elections.

This is frustrating for departing members. The party is against dual positions and the political “vortex of jobs”. Nanninga’s nomination and the fact that the party is immediately adopting her candidacy, according to the six, will show that the party’s culture is at odds with the party’s positions.

There have been some rumblings within JA21 for some time now. In March, prominent members wrote a “letter” to the party’s board of directors, because they felt the party was not democratic and not professional enough. Power will lie in the hands of a limited number of people. One of the signatories, MP Niki Bo-Verweg, announced a few weeks ago that he would not continue with the party after the election. Representative Dirk Jan Ebbink will also not run for re-election.

The six who announced their departure on Saturday, including former Overijssel MP Johan Almkinders, said in a letter that internal and professional democracy had failed. “We conclude that JA21 is not the right solution to the major issues of our time,” the letter said.

Dylan Van Beckum