Maarten van Ooijen, outgoing State Secretary of Health, Welfare and Sport, will not be on the list of candidates for the Christian Union for the House of Representatives elections in November. He said he had declared himself as a candidate with full conviction, but had doubts about whether his “beautiful place was the best for the party”, he wrote in a statement.
Van Ooijen withdrew because he realized that other candidates such as Bikker, Ceder and Grinwis already have “beautiful people” at the top who are committed to combating poverty and problems in working-class neighborhoods.
Van Ooijen (33) has only been in the cabinet since January last year. Before that he was an alderman in Utrecht.
The Christian Union has just announced the list of candidates for the elections. As was already clear, Mirjam Bikker tops the list, followed by current MPs Pieter Grinwis (at number 2) and Don Ceder (at number 3).
The party has therefore opted for experience at the top of the list, supplemented with newcomers Alwin te Rietstap and Joëlle Gooijer, now both councilors in Hardenberg and Delft respectively. Current MP Nico Drost is also on the list at number 6.
Van Ooijen will remain campaign leader for the party “with full energy”, he said.
- Christian Union wants to stop new law for surrogacy
- Mirjam Bikker wants to become Christian Union party leader
- Deputy Prime Minister Carola Schouten (CU) is also leaving politics
