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Lilian Marijnissen succeeds Emile Roemer as leader of SP parliamentary group

13 December 2017

Lilian Marijnissen succeeds Emile Roemer as leader of SP parliamentary group

Foto: SP

The SP's parliamentary group this morning elected Lilian Marijnissen as its new leader. She will succeed Emile Roemer who yesterday announced his decision to hand on the leadership. Marijnissen was one of two candidates to replace him.

After eleven years as a Member of Parliament, and eight years as SP leader, Roemer has decided to resign not just his leadership but his seat. “Yesterday I let my colleagues in the group know that at the beginning of January I'll be leaving Parliament,” he said. “After almost eight years of my having led the SP, it's time that another took over. I'm proud of where the SP now stands and what I have contributed to that. In the party organisation, the executive and the parliamentary group I have given the new forces the space to take the next step in the development of the SP. We have bloomed into a trustworthy party which is active among the people in the neighbourhoods, and a party which can govern. There's still a great deal to be done, but that's for the new forces. Young people, who can continue our tradition of activism with new élan and new ideas. I'm passing the baton to Lilian with every confidence.”

Lilian Marijnissen, currently parliamentary spokeswoman on health care, has been active in the SP for some fifteen years. For several of these years she was a member of the local council in her home town of Oss and won national recognition as organiser of dozens of successful actions in relation to health care with the national trade union federation FNV. “I'm really proud of Emile, and the whole party owes him a debt of thanks,” said Marijnissen. “Emile has played a major role in the renewal inside the SP, and had the courage to take the step towards accepting executive responsibility. Emile is the most trustworthy politician in Parliament and he takes everyone along in the direction he wants to go. He has taken the party further both ideologically and organisationally. I'm very pleased that the parliamentary group has given me its support to succeed Emile. We are going to miss Emile - we're proud of all he has meant to us. It's now up to us to build further on his strong foundations.”

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