International

The party council of the SP has elected Lilian Marijnissen as their leading candidate for the upcoming Lower House elections. The party is pleased that Lilian wants to be our leader. Her enthusiasm and commitment are amazing and she knows what she is talking about. The Netherlands needs new, honest politics to rebuild the country and we are proud that Lilian will lead the way.

The whole party council supports the call for new ideas. Parties can change faces, but if the ideas remain the same the problems in our country will not be solved. It is not important if someone is male or female, old or young. The chatter about female leadership or new leadership is empty campaign language. Let us talk about the ideas.

Marijnissen wants people to take back control of their own neighbourhoods, work and life. The market is not the solution. The government is not the solution. People are the solution. Give teachers, health care workers and policemen back their valuable work and stop the spreadsheet terror. We want a National Health Fund without deductible payments and insurance companies. Let‘s democratise our energy infrastructure. The province of Limburg, where the SP is part of the coalition government, will get a provincial energy company, and provinces of Groningen, Drenthe and Utrecht are exploring the possibility.

The SP party council elected a program and candidate committee. The program committee includes former SP MPs Renske Leijten and Ronald van Raak. The Party Council also discussed preparations for the Prinsjesdag Protest on Sunday 17 September in The Hague.