She is a radiant 39-year-old woman, powerful, ready for a new round in Dutch politics after she was also a member of the House of Representatives between 2017 and 2021. As party leader of the political party Splinter, Femke Merel van Kooten will again participate in the elections this fall. She does this in fluent Dutch, with a neat, almost posh accent and, above all, without fits and starts. But: that is not self-evident. “It took a lot of strength,” she says honestly. Because people who stutter are at a disadvantage in life, she knows from her own experience.
“It affects your life enormously. People who stutter often cannot do the work they would like to do. Not getting the partner they want. They cannot, so to speak, live in a house number that they cannot pronounce. People who stutter often order something different in the restaurant than they would actually like to order. Simply because they can pronounce one dish and not the other. It has such an impact.”