Plasterk rules himself out as next Dutch PM

[pieter]

May 20, 2024


Ronald Plasterk insisted he had "complete integrity". Photo: EU2016 NL

Former minister Ronald Plasterk has ruled himself out as a potential prime minister in the next Dutch government after questions were raised about his handling of a patent for a cancer medicine.

Plasterk, 67, was never officially nominated for the job, but was widely tipped to be PVV leader Geert Wilders’s choice to head the cabinet that is being formed by a quartet of right-wing parties.

Last week allegations that he claimed sole patent rights for a cancer vaccine that was developed in association with Amsterdam’s UMC hospital centre resurfaced, leading to fresh questions about his integrity.

Plasterk sold his biotech company, Frame Therapeutics, to German pharmaceutical firm CureVac shortly afterwards for €32 million. The patents for the cancer vaccine were valued at €6 million.

He is also the subject of an official complaint for documentary fraud after an Amsterdam-based lawyer claimed he had misled the tax office by registering his company as a micro-enterprise.

“Futile”

Wilders, as leader of the largest party in the four-way coalition, will now have to find an alternative candidate to lead the new government, but it is far from clear who he can turn to instead.

Plasterk said in a statement quoted in the Telegraaf that he was “no longer available” for the position of prime minister, while dismissing the allegations against him as “essentially untrue” and “futile”.

“Recently reports have appeared in which my integrity was called into question and which would have impeded my ability to perform my duties as prime minister had I been appointed, even though they are incorrect,” he wrote.

“The accusations are essentially untrue and otherwise futile. I have complete integrity and was prepared to have it comprehensively tested by the formateur [lead negotiator] and his advisers."

“I am no longer available as leader of the cabinet. I thank the many people who have expressed their confidence in me."

“Finally, I have every confidence that this cabinet, which has good plans for the country, will take shape.”

[pieter]

Other possible New Dutch Prime Ministers candidates are:




Mona Keijzer



Maria Cornelia Gezina "Mona" Keijzer (born 9 October 1968) is a Dutch politician and former civil servant. She served as State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy alongside Dilan Yesilgöz-Zegerius from 26 October 2017 until 25 September 2021. As a member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), she served in the House of Representatives between 2012 and 2017, and again for six months from 31 March 2021 until 27 September 2021. She focused on matters of nursing, home care and culture. Before becoming a full-time politician she worked as an environmental jurist for the municipalities of Waterland and Almere, as well as for the province of Gelderland.

Early life

Keijzer was born in Edam, a town in the northwest Netherlands (North West of Amsterdam - near Amsterdam-), in the province of North Holland and studied juridical public administration and public law at the University of Amsterdam.

Career

Keijzer started her political career as a member of the municipal council of Waterland from 1996 to 2002 and was later an alderwoman from 1998 to 2006. Subsequently, she worked as a lawyer and mediator in 2005 and 2006. Afterwards she was an alderwoman of neighbouring municipality of Purmerend (North of Amsterdam, near Amsterdam) from 2007 to 2012.

In 2012, Keijzer contested the CDA (Christian Democratic) leadership election in an attempt to become the party's lijsttrekker for the 2012 general election. Although performing unexpectedly well in the elections, she let Sybrand van Haersma Buma go first. Placed second on the list of candidates, Keijzer was elected to the House of Representatives, receiving 127,446 votes. She was reelected in the 2017 general election with 165,384 votes.

On 26 October 2017, Keijzer was appointed State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy in the third Rutte cabinet which lasted from 26 October 2017 until 10 January 2022. In this capacity, she was responsible for consumer policy, small and medium-sized enterprises, telecom, post and market regulation.

In a joint statement in October 2020, Keijzer and her French counterpart Cédric O called for a European Union authority to regulate large technology companies and argued that such an authority should be able to prevent digital platforms from blocking access to their services "unless they have an objective justification."

In 2020, she again contested the CDA leadership election, but came third, after Hugo de Jonge and Pieter Omtzigt. Placed seventh on the party's candidate list for the 2021 general election, Keijzer was reelected, obtaining 18,031 votes.



On 25 September 2021 Keijzer was dismissed from her cabinet position after publicly criticising the cabinet's position on COVID-19 measures. While forced resignations are not unheard of, being removed from a cabinet position has little precedent. The last time a cabinet member was fired was in 1975, although in that instance Jan Glastra van Loon was allowed to resign. Before Keijzer's discharge, no other cabinet member had actually been fired since World War II. Media outlets reported that Keijzer refused to resign. Keijzer also resigned from the House of Representatives two days later.

On 1 September 2023, Keijzer joined Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB) and it was announced that she would be the party's candidate in position two, for the November 2023 election, and also the BBB candidate for the position of Prime Minister. She assisted her party in subsequent cabinet formation talks. In the House, Keijzer serves as the BBB's spokesperson for the interior, digital affairs, migration, social affairs, and media. She raised the possibility of declaring certain parts of Ukraine safe during Russia's invasion of the country such that refugees could return. She also suggested refugees would have to contribute more financially towards their sheltering to discourage an influx.


Mona Keijzer was the BBB candidate for the position of Prime Minister during the November 2023 election



Personal life

Keijzer is married to a urologist and has five sons. She lives in Ilpendam, a village in the province of North Holland, North-East of Amsterdam, and belongs to the Roman Catholic Church. Her father-in-law is a former alderman of Waterland for the CDA (The Dutch Christian Democrats).

[pieter]

Dilan Yeşilgöz



Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius (born 18 June 1977) is a Dutch politician who has served as Leader of the conservative liberal the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) since 2023. She has also served as Minister of Justice and Security in the fourth Rutte cabinet since 10 January 2022. Yeşilgöz previously served as a member of the House of Representatives from 2017 to 2021 and as State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy from 2021 until 2022.

Early life

Yeşilgöz was born in Ankara, Turkey, and migrated to the Netherlands as a child. Her mother is of Turkish origin and her father is Kurdish and originally from Tunceli. Her mother, Fatma Özgümüş, is the director of the Netherlands Refugee Organization (VON). Her father, Yücel Yeşilgöz, a left-wing trade unionist, escaped from Turkey and sought asylum in the Netherlands in 1980, after 1980 Turkish coup d'état by the Turkish Army. For the next three years the Turkish Armed Forces ruled the country through the National Security Council, before democracy was restored with the 1983 Turkish general election.[7] This period saw an intensification of the Turkish nationalism of the state, including banning the Kurdish language. Turkey partially returned to democracy in 1983 and fully in 1989.

Dilan Yeşilgöz, at the age of 7 and as a refugee, escaped and claimed asylum in the Netherlands, along with her mother and sister.



After receiving her secondary education at the Vallei College in Amersfoort between 1991 and 1997, Yeşilgöz studied social and cultural sciences at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (The Free University Amsterdam), where she obtained a master's degree in culture, organization and management in 2003.

Political career

Yeşilgöz-Zegerius started her political career at the Socialist Party (De Socialistische Partij, SP), where Yesilgöz was a board member for the Amersfoort branch of the party. After this she started writing for the youth delegation of the Labour Party and followed an internship at GroenLinks (GreenLeft).


Yeşilgöz had a leftist, Socialist start in her political carreer

From 2014 to 2017, Yeşilgöz-Zegerius held a seat in the municipal council of Amsterdam. She was placed fourth on the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) list in the 2014 municipal election. The VVD is a center right Laisez Faire Pro Free Market, conservative liberal political party. As a councilor, Yeşilgöz committed to tackling and criminalizing street harassment of LGBT people and women. She worked on this in the city council for three years, but proposals were always rejected by a majority. When she left for the House of Representatives in 2017, then mayor Eberhard van der Laan praised her tenacity. He called it his farewell gift to Yeşilgöz that there would be an integrated approach to street intimidation in Amsterdam, based on a proposal she had submitted with Marijke Shashavari of the CDA at the time. A majority of the city council approved this proposal. De Volkskrant (the Peoples Magazine) characterized her tenacious nature as a "pit bull with empathy".


Yeşilgöz-Zegerius held a seat in the municipal council of Amsterdam


Yeşilgöz as city council of Amsterdam member (Councillor) for her center right, conservative liberal VVD party

Yeşilgöz-Zegerius was elected to the House of Representatives in the 2017 general election. She initially served as her party's spokesperson for justice and security, but her portfolio later included climate policy and energy policy. On 25 May 2021, Yesilgöz was appointed State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy in the demissionary third Rutte cabinet, serving alongside Mona Keijzer. On 10 January 2022, she was appointed Minister of Justice and Security in the fourth Rutte cabinet.



On 12 July 2023, two days after Mark Rutte's resignation, Yeşilgöz-Zegerius announced her candidacy to become the next Leader of the Center Right VVD. The following day, the party board formally nominated her for the position. On 14 August, Yesilgöz officially became the party leader of the VVD. She became the party's parliamentary leader following the November 2023 general election, but the duties were performed by Sophie Hermans due to Yeşilgöz's continued role as minister.

Political positions

As Minister of Justice and Security, Yesilgöz advocated for criminal justice reform and strict policies against terrorism and organized crime. She supported laws to protect journalists who had been threatened for their work and supports deporting extremist imams from the Schengen area. In 2019, Yesilgöz called for a ban on "single shots" and heavy flares within the F2 category of the Fireworks policy in the European Union, a policy idea which was opposed by the rest of the VVD. She also supported mandatory use of body cameras for police officers. Although from a refugee background, Yesilgöz has said she would pursue further controls on immigration if elected Prime Minister.



In 2019, Yesilgöz argued that Dutch ISIS terrorists detained by Kurdish forces should be tried on the spot rather than be repatriated to the Netherlands. She also argued in favour of blocking the repatriation of ISIS members, an idea which was opposed by coalition parties D66 and ChristenUnie who argued they should face trial in the Netherlands.

In 2022, Yesilgöz delivered the annual Hendrik Jan Schoo lecture entitled "Doing What It Takes to Protect Our Democratic Rule of Law" in which she criticised wokeism, far-right politicians, and conspiracy theorists, and argued that the Dutch constitutional state is allegedly under pressure from left-wing activism. Yesilgöz considers Frits Bolkestein as her main liberal role model.


Yesilgöz considers Frits Bolkestein as her main liberal role model. People's Party for Freedom and Democracy figure Frits Bolkestein also heavily influenced Geert Wilders beliefs. Frederik Frits Bolkestein (born 4 April 1933) is a Dutch retired politician and energy executive who served as Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) from 1990 to 1998 and European Commissioner for Internal Market from 1999 until 2004 under Romano Prodi.

In contrast to her predecessor Mark Rutte, Yesilgöz said she would not exclude Geert Wilders and the PVV from coalition talks ahead of the 2023 Dutch general election.

Personal life

Yesilgöz married René Zegerius in 2014. She is an Ajax supporter and a country music fan.


Yesilgöz is a supporter of the professional Ajax Amsterdam Soccer team/

Although she has dual nationality, she considers herself Dutch and not Turkish. On the television program College Tour, she stated in September 2023 that she had never had a Turkish passport and that she had only known for a year that she still had Turkish nationality. With this knowledge, she says she formally renounced her Turkish nationality, but it had not yet been granted by the Turkish government at the time of the interview.

[pieter]

Whom will it be Mona Keijzer or Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius? Or another candidate for Dutch Prime Minister. Which woman or man it will be the near Future will tell!

[pieter]

The influence of Frits Bolkestein




Frits Bolkestein was the former leader of the conservative Liberal VVD party and during the ninetees (30 April 1990 – 30 July 1998) he took a tough stance on immigration. Frits Bolkestein influenced and is an example for both the present leader of the VVD Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius and the Dutch rightwing Populist Nationalist Geert Wilders of the PVV party. The soul, mind, spirit, tactical and strategic thinking, political heritage and intellect of Frits Bolkestein hangs as a shadow over the present Rightwing government coalition of PVV-VVD-NSC-BBB. Today the ninety years old Frits Bolkestein is a shadow of his old self. But the heritage of the old Frits Bolkestein is present in Geert Wilders and Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius.

Former leader of the rightwing VVD, Frits Bolkestein, was placed under administration by the subdistrict court judge in Lelystad in July 2022. The reason for this, according to the 'guardianship register', is his 'physical or mental condition'. This means that the former politician, who is seriously ill, is no longer allowed to make decisions about his 'financial affairs', according to the explanation to the court ruling.


Bolkestein today is 90 years old, he has dementia and can't handle his own financial affairs. He is a shadow of his old self.

Frits Bolkestein



Frederik "Frits" Bolkestein (born 4 April 1933) is a Dutch retired politician and energy executive who served as Leader of the rightwing People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) from 1990 to 1998 and European Commissioner for Internal Market from 1999 until 2004 under President of the European Commission Romano Prodi.

Bolkestein worked as a corporate director for Royal Dutch Shell from May 1960 until July 1976 and as a manager for an engineering company in Amsterdam from September 1976 until January 1978. Bolkestein became a member of the House of Representatives shortly after election of 1977 taking office on 16 January 1978 serving as a frontbencher and spokesman for Economic Affairs. After the election of 1982 Bolkestein was appointed as State Secretary for Economic Affairs in the Cabinet Lubbers I taking office on 5 November 1982. After the election of 1986 Bolkestein was not offered a cabinet post in the new cabinet and returned to the House of Representatives on 3 June 1986 serving as a frontbencher and spokesman for Foreign Affairs and International trade. Bolkestein was appointed as Minister of Defence in the Cabinet Lubbers II following a cabinet reshuffle taking office on 24 September 1988. After the election of 1989 Bolkestein again returned to the House of Representatives on 14 September 1989. Shortly after the election, party leader and parliamentary leader Joris Voorhoeve announced he was stepping down and Bolkestein announced his candidacy to succeed and was selected as his successor on 30 April 1990.


Frits Bolkestein with the prime minister of Belgium Guy Verhofstadt

For the election of 1994, Bolkestein served as lijsttrekker (= party leader in Dutch) (top candidate) and following a successful cabinet formation with Labour Leader Wim Kok and fellow Liberal Leader Hans van Mierlo formed the Cabinet Kok I with Bolkestein opting to remain as Parliamentary leader. Bolkestein also served as President of the Liberal International from 15 April 1996 until 18 April 2000. For the election of 1998 Bolkestein again served as lijsttrekker (top candidate) but shortly thereafter announced that he was stepping down on 30 July 1998 but continued to serve in the House of Representatives as a backbencher. In August 1999 Bolkestein was nominated as the next European Commissioner in the Prodi Commission, and was giving the heavy portfolios of Internal Market and Services and Taxation and Customs serving from 16 September 1999 until 22 November 2004.

Early life and career

Frederik Bolkestein was born on 4 April 1933 in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. His father was president of the Court in Amsterdam. His grandfather, Gerrit Bolkestein, was Minister of Education, Arts, and Sciences to the Dutch government-in-exile in London (UK) of 1939 to 1945. Bolkestein's mother was born in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) to Dutch parents.

Bolkestein attended the Barlaeus Gymnasium in Amsterdam from 1945 to 1951, where he majored in both arts and sciences. Upon completing his gymnasium education, he was an undergraduate in mathematics at Oregon State College from 1951 to 1953. Subsequently, he went to the University of Amsterdam, where he received a BSc degree in mathematics and physics in 1955. In 1959, he received a MA degree in philosophy and Greek from the same university. Bolkestein subsequently received a BSc degree from The London School of Economics in 1963, and an LLM degree from Leiden University in 1965.

During his studies in Amsterdam, Bolkestein was editor for the satirical student magazine Propria Cures. He was also a member of the board of the student union ASVA.

Before entering Dutch politics, Bolkestein worked for the oil company Royal Dutch Shell from 1960 to 1975. During this period he was assigned to postings in East Africa, Honduras and El Salvador, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, and France. In Paris, he served on the board of the Shell Chimie from 1973 to 1975. During his tenure with Shell, he completed the first part of the economics program at the London School of Economics in 1964 and he also completed a law degree at Leiden University, graduating in 1965.

In 1976, Bolkestein wrote an English language play named Floris, Count of Holland, under the anagrammatic pseudonym of Niels Kobet.

Politics



Bolkestein left Shell in 1976 and became a member of parliament for the VVD party. From 1982 to 1986, he served as Minister of International Trade. After joining the parliament again, he was Minister of Defence from 1988 to 1989. In 1990, he was elected Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy of the VVD, a position he held until 1998. Between 1978 and 1999, when he became European Commissioner, he was member of parliament for 17 years.

During the 1990s, he was very successful as the political frontman of the VVD. As an opinion leader, he was known for his daring and controversial positions on such issues as multicultural problems in Dutch society, political dualism between government and parliament, and the structure and expansion of the European Union. From 1990 to 1994 he was the parliamentary opposition leader and continued his outspoken and independent style when his party was part of the government from 1994. During the provincial elections of 1995, his criticism of Dutch immigration policies made his party the largest of the country.

In 1996, his political integrity came under heavy criticism, because it was revealed he had written a letter to Health Minister Els Borst, in which he asked her to help a pharmaceutical company, of which Bolkestein was member of the board of commissioners. The incident was known as the "Dear Els"-incident, because the letter was addressed to Borst personally.

He was president of the Liberal International, the world federation of liberal political parties. Since Autumn 2004, he has been a professor at the Dutch universities of Leiden and Delft. Former Irish finance minister Charlie McCreevy succeeded him as Commissioner for the Internal Market.

He authored a number of books on politics and related subjects. Frits Bolkestein is married to Femke Boersma, a retired Dutch actress. In 2005, his house in northern France had its electricity cut briefly by the local energy company after he criticized French protectionist measures against incoming electricians from Eastern Europe.

In 2010 he was awarded the Prize for Liberty by the Flemish classical-liberal think tank Libera!. Also, he is on the advisory board of OMFIF where he is regularly involved in meetings regarding the financial and monetary system.

Bolkestein Directive

Named after Frits Bolkestein, the Directive on services in the internal market aims at enabling a company from a given member-state to recruit workers in other European Union countries using the law of its home country. It triggered huge protests in Europe. This directive was voted in the European Parliament in March 2006 and the MEPs proposed amendments to the provisional text. The "principle of origin", which stipulates that workers are employed under the legal arrangements of their own state of residence, was replaced by a new "freedom" principle – freedom to provide services, meaning that administrative obstacles should be removed. The compromise allowed the draft Directive to continue to exist. However, there was a great deal of concern about its effect on social standards and welfare, triggering competition between various parts of Europe. This led to significant protests across Europe against the directive including a notable protest at the European Parliament in Strasbourg by port workers which led to damage to the building. MEPs eventually reached a compromise on the text and the Parliament adopted it on 12 December 2006; 2 years after Bolkestein left office, under the Barroso Commission.



Controversies

In 2001, Bolkestein responded to the question raised by Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) Harlem Désir, Glyn Ford and Francis Wurtz, who asked the Commission to investigate the accusations brought forward by Révélation$, a book written by investigative journalist Denis Robert and former Clearstream member Ernest Backes, as well as to ensure that the 10 June 1990 directive (91/308 CE) on control of financial establishment be applied in all member states in an effective way. Commissioner Bolkestein applied that "the Commission has no reason to date to believe that the Luxembourg authorities do not apply it vigorously" [sic]. The three MEPs henceforth published a press statement asking the opening of an investigation by the European Union about the correct application of 10 June 1990 directive.

On 26 April 2006, French daily 20 minutes revealed that "in May 2005, MEP Paul van Buitenen was shocked by Frits Bolkestein's presence in Bank Menatep's international consultative council (owned by Russian magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky), a sulfurous Russian banking establishment, and by his work for Shell, British-Dutch petrol company. Two firms 'detaining secret accounts in Clearstream' ... Van Buitenen, also Dutch, then asked for 'clarification' to the European Commission and the opening of a parliamentary investigation. The Commission's president, José Manuel Barroso, answered that these facts "don't bring up any new question" and that it is not known "if Menatep took contact with Bolkestein while he was in his functions". No investigation thereby took place." The free daily underlines that "in 2001, it was Bolkestein himself that announced the Commission's refusal to open up a parliamentary investigation on Clearstream", following MEP Harlem Désir's requests and accusations that Menatep had an "undeclared account" at Clearstream. Bolkestein refused to answer any questions by the newspaper.

On 18 May 2010, Bolkestein advocated for the legalization of all drugs in an article called; "Red het land, sta drugs toe" which translates to; "save the nation, allow drugs" in the NRC Handelsblad, a Dutch newspaper. The article is endorsed by many professionals ranging from Els Borst, former Dutch minister of public health, to many jurists, professors and drug experts.

In Het Verval ("The Decline"), a book about Jews in the Netherlands written by Manfred Gerstenfeld, a Holocaust survivor and senior researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Bolkestein is quoted as having said that practicing Jews had no future in the Netherlands, due to antisemitism among Turkish and particularly Moroccan immigrants, and that they should emigrate to the United States or Israel. Bolkestein's remarks, after having been published in a Dutch newspaper, raised a storm of criticism in December 2010. According to Ronny Naftaniel, head of the Jewish organisation CIDI, this was not the first time Bolkestein has expressed this view.

[pieter]

[pieter]

Feb 6, 2019

Grandpa Bolkestein was active in education all his life; from nursery school to minister. Frits Bolkestein's father was president of the Court. Both served the public good. "And I," says Frits, "was the black sheep of the family. I went abroad to sell oil."

[pieter]

[pieter]

[pieter]

Frits Bolkestein



Frederik (Frits) Bolkestein (ur. 4 kwietnia 1933 w Amsterdamie) – holenderski polityk i ekonomista, parlamentarzysta i minister, w latach 1990–1998 lider Partii Ludowej na rzecz Wolności i Demokracji (VVD), od 1999 do 2004 członek Komisji Europejskiej ds. usług i rynku wewnętrznego.

Życiorys

W 1951 ukończył szkołę średnią Barlaeus Gymnasium, następnie do 1953 studiował matematykę na Oregon State University. W 1955 został absolwentem matematyki i fizyki na Uniwersytecie Amsterdamskim. W 1964 ukończył ekonomię w London School of Economics, a w 1965 uzyskał magisterium z prawa na Uniwersytecie w Lejdzie.

Od 1960 do 1976 pracował w koncernie Royal Dutch Shell, zajmował różne stanowiska w jego oddziałach w Afryce, Ameryce Środkowej i Azji. Był koordynatorem regionalnym Shell Chemie (1972–1973), a następnie przez trzy lata dyrektorem w tym przedsiębiorstwie.

W 1975 wstąpił do Partii Ludowej na rzecz Wolności i Demokracji, a rok później zdecydował się zawodowo zająć działalnością polityczną. W 1978 wybrany po raz pierwszy do Tweede Kamer. Do niższej izby Stanów Generalnych uzyskiwał reelekcję w wyborach w 1982, 1986, 1989, 1994 i 1998. Od listopada 1982 do lipca 1986 pełnił funkcję sekretarza stanu do spraw handlu zagranicznego. Od września 1988 do listopada 1989 sprawował urząd ministra obrony. W maju 1990 został liderem VVD i przewodniczącym klubu poselskiego swojej partii, oba stanowiska zajmował do lipca 1998. Był wiceprzewodniczącym (1991–1994) i przewodniczącym (1996–1999) Międzynarodówki Liberalnej.

Od września 1999 do listopada 2004 wchodził w skład Komisji Europejskiej, którą kierował Romano Prodi. Odpowiadał w niej za usługi i rynek wewnętrzny. Był projektodawcą m.in. liberalizującej przepływ usług w UE dyrektywy usługowej (zwanej „dyrektywą Bolkesteina”), którą w zmodyfikowanym kształcie przyjęto już po jego odejściu z KE. Od 2004 prowadził wykłady na Uniwersytecie Technicznym w Delfcie oraz na Uniwersytecie w Lejdzie.

Odznaczony m.in. Orderem Lwa Niderlandzkiego III (1986) i II (1989) klasy oraz Orderem Oranje-Nassau III klasy (2004).

[pieter]

Frits Bolkestein



Frederik (Frits) Bolkestein (* 4. April 1933 in Amsterdam) ist ein niederländischer Politiker (VVD). Er war von 1999 bis 2004 EU-Kommissar und lieferte 2004 den vieldiskutierten Entwurf der Europäischen Dienstleistungsrichtlinie (auch vielfach „Bolkestein-Richtlinie“).

Leben und Beruf


Frits Bolkestein 1980 in der Zweiten Kammer

Sein Großvater war der Minister Gerrit Bolkestein. Nach dem Abitur studierte Frits Bolkestein Mathematik und Physik an der Universität Amsterdam und in den USA, anschließend Philosophie und Griechisch, ebenfalls in Amsterdam. Zwischen 1960 und 1976 arbeitete Bolkestein für das Chemie-Unternehmen Shell. Hier war er als Manager in verschiedenen Positionen im Außendienst tätig, unter anderem in Afrika, Indonesien, Honduras, El Salvador, Großbritannien und Frankreich. Dort war er für drei Jahre Vorstandsmitglied der Shell Chemie in Paris. Zu Beginn seiner Karriere bei Shell studierte er auch Rechtswissenschaften an der Universität Leiden und Wirtschaftswissenschaften an der London School of Economics and Political Science.

Bolkestein ist verheiratet und hat drei Kinder.

Partei

Bolkestein war von 1978 bis 1999 Abgeordneter der Liberalen (VVD) im niederländischen Parlament, von 1982 bis 1986 Handelsminister der Niederlande und 1988 bis 1989 Verteidigungsminister. Von 1990 bis 1998 war er Fraktionsvorsitzender der VVD im niederländischen Parlament. Er gilt als Vertreter des rechten Flügels.

Von 1996 bis 1999 war er Präsident der Liberalen Internationale. Außerdem war er Berater der Mont Pelerin Society.

In der EU-Kommission Prodi war er für den Binnenmarkt, Steuern und Zollunion zuständig.

Politische Aktivitäten

Als letzte bedeutende Amtshandlung legte er den Entwurf einer Europäischen Dienstleistungsrichtlinie vor.

Größere Aufmerksamkeit im Netz erlangte er durch sein uneingeschränktes Eintreten für Softwarepatentierung und einen Verhandlungstrick am 18. Mai 2004 im EU-Ministerrat. Frits Bolkestein präsentierte seine Kürzung eines deutschen Änderungsvorschlags als „abgeändert in leicht technischer Weise“. In der von Frits Bolkestein präsentierten Fassung wurden aber nur noch die Wörter „neu und“ eingefügt.

Im Jahr 2002 nahm er an der 50. Bilderberg-Konferenz in Chantilly (Virginia) teil.


Dutch Prime Minister and Frits Bolkestein at a party congress of the conservative liberal VVD party

[pieter]

Another potential candidate for the position of new Dutch Prime Minister could be the Dutch public administrator, former politician and administrator Kim Putters, because he is not a member of the PVV, VVD, NSC nor the BBB. He could be a neutral Prime Minister. Even though he is a Labour party member, he is respected by all 4 rightwing political parties.


Kim Putters



Kim Putters (born 22 September 1973) is a Dutch public administrator, former politician and administrator. From 2003 to 15 June 2013 he was a Member of the Dutch Senate for the Labour Party. Since his retirement from the Dutch Senate, he was director of The Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP) until June 2022. Since September 16, 2022, he has been chairman of the Social and Economic Council (SER).

Early life and career

Putters grew up in a family that was active in the inland shipping industry. He was professor of Health Care Policy and Steering at Erasmus University Rotterdam until 2022, since 2022 he has been professor of Broad Welfare at Tilburg University.

Dutch Senate

Putters served as a member of the Dutch Senate from 2003 to 11 june 2013. From 2011 until his departure in 2013, Putters served as the First Vice President of the Senate. He also served as deputy leader of the PvdA (Dutch Labour party) in the Upper House. In the Senate (the Upper House), he focused on science policy and higher education, public housing and spatial planning, and public health, welfare and sport.

From 2011 to 2013, he also chaired the Dutch parliamentarian delegation in the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). In the municipality of Hardinxveld-Giessendam, a municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland, in the South-East of Rotterdam. Putters acted as a council member, party leader and formateur between 2002 and 2012.

Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP)

Putters served as director of the Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP) from 2013 to 2022. In that role, he directed the SCP and advised cabinet and parliament on the social issues of our time, putting them in a broader societal context. Putters regularly wrote opinion pieces that appeared in Het Financieele Dagblad (Financial News paper, the Dutch Financial Times, and de Volkskrant (a Dutch quality newspaper, in English Peoples Newspaper) named him the most influential person of the Netherlands in 2019 and 2020. He often commented on growing dissatisfaction with politics and the government among citizens as well as an increasingly fierce public discourse. He criticized budget cuts of the second Rutte cabinet, and he called for the creation of a new social contract between citizens and "the elite" to allow for societal, economic, and ecological progress.

Social and Economic Council

Putters has been a Crown-appointed member of the Social and Economic Council (SER) since January 2017 for his role as director of the Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP). On 17 June 2022, the Council of Ministers (Netherlands) approved the appointment of Putters as president of the Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands (SER). He succeeded Mariëtte Hamer, who had been appointed by the government of Prime Minister Mark Rutte as commissioner for combating inappropriate behavior and sexual violence, a new role in which she is tasked with coming up with a plan to tackle sexually inappropriate behavior and sexual violence.

Putters was appointed informateur as part of the 2023–2024 Dutch cabinet formation on 14 February 2024. Selected by the Party for Freedom (PVV) – the winner of the November 2023 general election – Putters was tasked with investigating the most viable governing arrangement. New Social Contract (NSC) had left talks with the PVV, BBB, and VVD under the previous informateur, Ronald Plasterk, while declaring it would still be open to a minority or extraparliamentary cabinet. Putters eventually advised a coalition consisting of the same four parties with a concise coalition agreement and a cabinet comprised half of non-politicians. Geert Wilders agreed to forgo his wish to become prime minister.

Putters has been a member of the Scout movement from an early age. From 2008 to 2011 he was a board member of Scouting Nederland. Putters is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Dutch National Youth Council, member of the National Committee for 4 and 5 May (since 2019) and vice-president of the social welfare foundation Oranje Fonds (since October 2016).

The National Committee for 4 and 5 May (Dutch: Nationaal Comité 4 en 5 mei) is a Dutch authority for war monuments and memorials since 1987.

The committee is best known for its annual organization of the Remembrance of the Dead observances on May 4, and also its organization of music festivals to celebrate freedom on May 5, Liberation Day (Dutch: "Bevrijdingsdag"). Prior to its founding, the various observances were all organized locally with little or no central coordination. The organization now keeps a database of all war memorials and monuments erected over time throughout the kingdom, and this includes objects in former state-controlled territories. Since starting the May 4th Amsterdam dodenherdenking, located on the spot where civilians were killed during the May 7th 1945 Dam Square shooting, efforts to widen the focus to be more inclusive of all war casualties have continued. The committee was founded in 1987 to preserve the various recorded events and also to uncover lesser known stories of national importance. To this day memorials are still created to honor WWII events, but also of national engagements since that time by army, Royal Marines, Corps Commando Troops and Dutchbat (Aurborne troops) abroad in Indonesia, Korea, Lebanon (Unifil), Cambodja, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iraq, Afghanistan and Mali. To remember and honor the veterans whom died in these countries abroad and never came back alive..

[karl]

Pieter

How so very complicated of politics in the Nederland with so many potentially a very qualified candidates for position of Prime Minister. It will be either a call of the cards or ring side fight for one Canidate to win. It appears in reality of some very well qualified ladies in the ring though.

Karl

[pieter]

Karl,

Even for an average Dutch person today Dutch politics in The Hague is complicated and hard to follow, so for a foreign person abroad it must be hard to impossible to follow and understand Dutch politics with it's 15 political parties in the House of Representatives (de Tweede Kamer). It is extremely hard to form a coalition government. Not only the coming rightwing PVV-VVD-NSC-BBB coalition government, but also the present demissionary cabinet and soon will be old Fourth Rutte cabinet (10 January 2022- today) which took about 10 months to be formed installed. 10 months of negotiations between various political parties and informateurs and formateurs.

The formation of the Fourth Rutte cabinet was particularly difficult; it required the longest time of any cabinet so far. General elections were held in the Netherlands from 15 to 17 March 2021 to elect all 150 members of the House of Representatives. Following the elections and lengthy coalition formation talks, the sitting government remained in power.

The formation became difficult after scout Ollongren was photographed with notes that read "Omtzigt position elsewhere", which was controversial, for Omtzigt was one of the most popular members of parliament within his party, the Christian Democratic Appeal.


Due to "the position-for-function affair Omzigt elsewhere", many Dutch citizens and voters no longer had confidence in politics. On 25 March 2021, confidential notes from the government formation were revealed to include, among other things, "position Omtzigt, function elsewhere" (Dutch: "positie Omtzigt, functie elders"). This prompted a heated debate in parliament and an impasse in the government formation.


Coalition accord

The coalition accord contained, among other things, more agreements about accelerating the Netherlands' climate ambitions (55% CO2 reduction in 2030), changes to daycare costs, preparation for new nuclear power plants, creation of road pricing (not toll) starting in 2030, accelerated nitrogen reduction (−50% in 2030), more regulation of the rental sector, equalizing pay between grade school and high school teachers, a return of the basic scholarship for students, increase over time of legal minimum wage by 7.5% and more defense spending.

Pieter