Ouwehand speaks of ‘roof construction’ in itself. ‘Anyone who has ever had a burnout, like myself in 2015, knows how important it is to recognize health complaints that are a precursor to it – and to intervene in time to enable a good and smooth recovery’, she writes in a message to the members of the party. The Elections Act stipulates that a period of sick leave for MPs is 16 weeks.
Ouwehand expects to be able to recover well during this period and to return to Parliament at the end of January. Until her return, the vacant seat will be filled by one of the candidate MPs of the PvdD.
Ouwehand is not the only one at the Binnenhof who is struggling with complaints due to overload. For that reason, ministers Bas van ‘t Wout and Bruno Bruins dropped out in the previous cabinet. The now independent Member of Parliament Pieter Omtzigt was also temporarily out of the running, as were D66 MP Rens Ramaekers and former CDA MP Harry van der Molen.
Work regime
In the previous cabinet term, this wave of cases of illness led to worrying debates in the House about one’s own work regime and also to a number of interventions. At the initiative of D66, MPs receive more staff support. A committee led by SGP leader Kees van der Staaij examined its own Rules of Procedure in 2019, among other things to prevent overload. Van der Staaij advised introducing ‘more structure’ in parliamentary work. It was agreed, among other things, that nocturnal debates and votes would be prevented at unexpected moments.
Ouwehand has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2006 and took over the party chairmanship from Marianne Thieme in 2019. Shortly after the General Political Reflections in September, she fell ill. Just before that she gave an interview on de Volkskrantthat Saturday in the magazine appears. In it she says: ‘Later I will lead a calmer life.’