In the week in which the election manifesto of the Party for the Animals was presented, the party board unexpectedly decided not to nominate party leader Esther Ouwehand as party leader. The news leads to surprised and critical online reactions from party members, who express support for Ouwehand and oppose the board’s decision.
Since the PvdD board previously announced that it would nominate Ouwehand, “signals and information” have been received that would indicate possible integrity violations by Ouwehand, according to a short written statement from party chairman Ruud van der Velden. An external ad hoc integrity committee is being set up to investigate, and a new candidate candidate would be selected next week.
Ouwehand himself would respond to the board’s decision later today.
Discussion
There has been discussion between the board and Ouwehand about the vision of the party for some time, sources say NRC. People who work with Ouwehand say they were surprised by the news.
One of the points of discussion, for example, would be the embrace of the civil disobedience protest of the action group Exction Rebellion (XR). The party leadership has previously opposed this, Ouwehand spoke out in favor of XR at the last conference, and the members adopted motions to support the goals of XR and protest actions.
Member of Parliament Christine Teunissen calls it “a nonsense” that the Ouwehand board would try to push aside through a “bizarre statement”. “Esther has done nothing other than express her legitimate concerns in an internal letter about the lack of professionalization and poor manners within the party.” The members would be responsible for the party leader, not the board, says Teunissen.
The youth movement Pink! of the Party for the Animals says it has learned of the news “with dismay” in a written response. Little finger! does not recognize the “accusations” against Ouwehand. “Power games are being played behind the scenes within the party that are now at the expense of the party leader and party.” Little finger! demands the resignation of the board.
Party leader
Ouwehand started as acting party leader in 2018 and has led the faction in the House of Representatives since 2021. Between October last year and last February she was temporarily disabled due to work overload.
When the party board nominated Ouwehand as party leader for the November elections on July 17, party chairman Van der Velden said he was pleased. “Esther has shown that she can convincingly highlight the ideas of the Party for the Animals. Our party is growing rapidly, both in the number of representatives and members.”
The party is growing in polls and has added 3,650 members since the beginning of this year, bringing the total membership to 28,500.
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