SP Member of Parliament Renske Leijten will leave the House of Representatives next week after seventeen years. That reports her party Saturday. Leijten thinks it is “time to step out of the bubble in The Hague and to engage in our democracy in a different way.”
Leijten played a key role in exposing the scandal surrounding the Supplementary Affair. Together with Pieter Omtzigt (CDA) she fought for years for compensation for duped parents. Leijten says that she looks back with pride on her time as a member of parliament, but that for her democracy is no longer in the House of Representatives or in political The Hague. What she will do exactly has not been announced, but she says she will remain active for the SP. “It is time to go back to the real society and start organizing people there.”
Party leader Lilian Marijnissen describes Leijten as “exactly what is often lacking in political The Hague. A real voice of the people, always involved and passionate and approachable for everyone.” On Tuesday 4 July, Leijten will officially say goodbye to the House of Representatives. A day later, Nicole Temmink is installed as a Member of Parliament.