After more than six years of national politics, the curtain has fallen for Lilian Marijnissen. On Saturday she announced that she would quit as party leader and Member of Parliament of the SP. Marijnissen from Oss became the new leader of the SP in December 2017.
She succeeded Emile Roemer in December 2017. Marijnissen only entered the House of Representatives in March of that year. Before that, she served on the Oss municipal council for thirteen years. “I am honored to become the new party leader,” she said proudly.
Marijnissen is the daughter of former party leader and figurehead Jan Marijnissen and Mari-Anne Marijnissen, who also sat for the SP in the Oss municipal council. “I have the full support of my father and mother. My father gave me a tip: stay yourself, know where you come from.”
Marijnissen said the promising words in 2017: “I have to get straight to work.” According to her, the new cabinet is for the people who are already doing well. “We know what we have to do, we are fighting for a more social Netherlands.”
As an example of how she wants to fulfill her leadership, she mentioned the Elckerlyc playground in Oss. This came about at the initiative of the people of Ossen and the SP. “We first started the fight for a beautiful, safe playground. When that didn’t work, we took care of it with the people ourselves.”
Marijnissen was already on the electoral list for the municipal elections in Oss as a 16-year-old. Despite a low ranking, she was elected with preferential votes. She could not take her seat at that time because she was not yet an adult. When she turned 18, she joined the city council.
Later she got a job at the trade union Abvakabo FNV. There she fought for, among other things, higher wages and more appreciation for people who work in healthcare. In March she moved to The Hague. Although she was in third place on the electoral list, she received more than twice as many votes as number two Renske Leijten.
When Roemer announced his resignation within the party, two possible successors came forward: Marijnissen and Member of Parliament Sadet Karabulut. According to Karabulut, Marijnissen was elected with a large majority within the party.
DO YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS TOPIC:
Lilian Marijnissen is resigning as SP faction leader
Lilian Marijnissen lost seven elections as SP leader