PVV member Bosma or Van der Lee of the GL-PvdA? The Chamber elects a new president Policy

14 dec 2023 om 05:03

The House of Representatives is scheduled to elect its new speaker on Thursday. The exciting battle takes place between PVV member Martin Bosma and GL-PvdA’s Tom van der Lee. They both have a chance. The outcome will depend on the votes of members of parliament from the VVD and the National Security Council.

In het kort

Kamer stemt in het geheim over een nieuwe voorzitter.
Het is een spannende strijd tussen Martin Bosma (PVV) en Tom van der Lee (GL-PvdA).
Vriend en vijand prijzen Bosma als debatleider.
Maar er zijn ook veel principiële bezwaren tegen een PVV’er als boegbeeld van de Kamer.

Presiding over the House of Representatives is a prestigious job. Not everyone is simply eligible, although any of the 150 MPs can apply. In general, only experienced parliamentarians have a chance of being elected.

This time, Bosma and Van der Lee, both 59, are competing against each other. It is expected to be an exciting battle. Bosma previously made two unsuccessful attempts to become president. But after the Freedom Party won the election, it now appears to have a serious chance.

Both Bosma and Van der Lee serve as Vice-President and members of the Chamber’s Executive Board (Presidium). Bosma has been in the House of Representatives since 2006 and Van der Lee since 2017.

Van der Lee has been active in GroenLinks since its inception

Van der Lee has been active in his GroenLinks party since its founding, which was created in 1990 from the merger of four small parties. He had (administrative) roles within the parliamentary bloc for twenty years. For example, he chaired “over five hundred faction meetings,” van der Lee wrote in his application letter.

After a short trip, he became a member of parliament for the GroenLinks party in 2017. In recent years, he has served on various committees and was chairman of the parliamentary investigative committee that investigated gas extraction in Groningen. He sees himself as someone who can stand above parties and says he showed that in this situation.

The president’s duties are diverse. In addition to leading the discussions, the President sets the discussion agenda with the Presidency. The President is also the figurehead of the House of Representatives.

During celebrations and visits by foreign heads of state, the Speakers of the House of Representatives and the Senate represent Parliament. For example, Vera Bergkamp and Senate President Jean-Anthony Bruin received Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last spring.

Friend and foe alike praise Bosma as a debate leader

And it is precisely this symbolic part of the task package that stands in Bosma’s way. Friend and foe alike praise him for his qualities when it comes to leading debates impartially. He keeps MPs brief and brings humor. But many parties prefer not to consider the Freedom Party member a prominent figure in Parliament.

“What should Chamber President Bosma say when he is on a working visit to a school on behalf of our house and Wissin – let’s say he is eight or ten – asks him a question? His parents are Muslim and Wissin asks Chamber President Bosma: ‘Can I come later to vote?’ What answer should he give?” Rinsky asked Leiten (SP) during the 2021 elections.

In 2016, when Bosma also applied for the job, he refused to distance himself from the “fake parliament” qualification. Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders uses this term regularly.

Bosma defended himself both times by saying that as president he does not have an opinion of his own, he adheres to the rules of the system and implements them like a kind of “robot” and says what the majority of the council wants. “I will be so impartial that I will hurt your eyes,” he said.

Hoe werkt de verkiezing?

De Kamer gaat eerst in debat met de kandidaten. Bosma en Van der Lee nemen plaats in het vak waar normaal gesproken de leden van het kabinet zitten. Daarna volgt de stemming.

Deze stemming verloopt via anonieme briefjes en is geheim. In de meeste fracties mogen de Kamerleden zelf bepalen op wie ze stemmen. Ook is het ongebruikelijk om onderling afspraken te maken.

Een kandidaat moet de absolute meerderheid halen. Simpel gezegd: de helft plus één van alle geldig uitgebrachte stemmen.

Bosma has been an extreme member of PVV since the beginning

He is sure to continue that streak on Thursday. But the question is whether other MPs, like him, can also distinguish between the smile of a Speaker of Parliament and that of a Member of Parliament.

The PVV member was one of the first to join Wilders at the beginning of this century. Bosma is one of his close associates and is a hardliner within the party. He writes numerous texts and is said to be the inventor of the controversial term “head rag tax.”

Bosma often criticizes the “leftist elite”, considers the press an enemy and regularly questions the institutions of the rule of law. In private a job He warned against Muslims who would constitute a majority in the Netherlands. His statements are consistent with population theory.

Last year, the National Coordinator for Counter-Terrorism and Security (NCTV) warned against the normalization of this dangerous theory.

The votes of the VVD and the National Security Council are crucial

The question is whether a majority of members of the House of Representatives can ignore these points. Bosma seems to be able to rely on the support of PVV, BBB, FVD, SGP and JA21. This adds up to 51 votes.

Van der Lee seems to be able to count on the support of fifty deputies in any case. The GL-PvdA, D66, SP, CU, DENK, PvdD, and Volt factions are expected to support him. There is also a good chance that CDA MPs will support him.

As a result, the votes of members of parliament from the VVD and the National Security Council will be decisive. Will they choose Bousma despite his statements? Or will they help put the leftist speaker of the House of Representatives in power?