On Tuesday afternoon, summary proceedings brought by candidate party leader Gerard van Hooft from Heusden against his party 50PLUS will be heard in the court of The Hague. A court spokesperson confirmed this. Van Hooft was removed from the hall by the police last weekend during a party conference that got out of hand. Among other things, he wants three board members of the senior party to resign.
They had already announced their departure, but only from the next members meeting. Van Hooft wants to hear from the judge that they must leave now and that last weekend’s interrupted meeting can continue. A new list of candidates can then be drawn up with him at the head. The party has 0 to 1 seats in the polls, so only the party leader seems to have a chance of a place in the House of Representatives.
Job hunting
Outgoing chairman Jorien van den Herik accused Van Hooft of ‘job hunting’. The party board itself has put Ellen Verkoelen forward as party leader. His is already a member of Parliament in South Holland and faction leader in the Rotterdam city council.
The current board is in no way blocking the list from being established, a spokesperson for the board said on Monday. The party board wants members to approve the list this week, so that it can be submitted to the Electoral Council on time. The deadline for this is next Monday. The question remains whether it will be possible to meet or whether the elderly party will hold an online members meeting, the spokesperson said on Monday.
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