As expected, Henk Jumelet from Erica is switching to the CDA faction in the House of Representatives. The Drenthe deputy saw his party rise from 5 to 18 seats in the elections. That is more than enough for Jumelet, who is ninth on the list of candidates, for a place in parliament.
“It’s great that we gained 13 seats. We’re back,” he responds enthusiastically. According to Jumelet, the party’s success is not just a victory for the CDA. “I think it is especially important that the political center has won. We see that the CDA is also part of this. Congratulations to D66 in particular, hopefully we can work together.”
Yet for a long time the party counted on delivering the prime minister. The CDA was initially the second party in the polls. Since the PVV was excluded by most parties, the Christian Democrats hoped that party leader Henri Bontenbal could become Prime Minister. But partly due to a criticized statement by Bontenbal about homosexual students at reformed schools, the number of seats fell again.
“You can of course look back at all kinds of moments in the campaign,” Jumelet responds briefly to that development. “But I think it is especially important to see that we are back. Because many people, including in Drenthe, have given the CDA their confidence again and we are very happy with that.”
Jumelet thinks that the rise of his party is due to a call for ‘normal politics’. “Voters have gotten over the craziness a bit. It has to be about trust in politics again and we tried to emphasize that in the campaign. It seems that that has scored well. Now it is our responsibility to make it happen.”
Jumelet does not want to say whether he can count on a role as state secretary or minister in the event of a possible participation in government. “That is a very nice question, but I am not going to answer it. I am now starting as a Member of Parliament, that is of course the first thing you go for. And we will see what else comes my way. You never know, but I am not going to anticipate it.”