Since the provincial elections in 2019, 33 members of parliament have retired prematurely. This is evident from data that Omroep Brabant has requested from the province. The reasons for leaving vary, from a new job elsewhere to death. Mostly the position of alderman or provincial board member attracted MPs.
Thirty-three retirements are a significant increase compared to the previous board term. Then, only twelve members of Parliament left prematurely. In total, the provincial states (Provinciale Staten) include 55 members.
Prefer governing
Since 2019, a total of ten members of parliament have made the transition to the provincial board (Gedeputeerde Staten). The number is higher than in other board terms. This can be explained by the fact that a new board had to be formed three times: in 2019, 2020 and in 2021. Most members of parliament who actually left the provincial house did so because they became aldermen in a municipality. Nine times a provincial parliament seat was exchanged for the aldermanship.
Break-up
The break-up of the Forum for Democracy also played a role in the large turnover in the provincial parliament. Stijn Roeles, Hans Smolders and Gemma van Heusden-Wienen said goodbye to the States and the party after it appeared that members of the youth party JFvD expressed anti-semitic sentiment in app groups. The farewell of the three MPs also meant that the list was exhausted. Of the three seats that Forum actually has, only one is currently occupied.
Career change
Two members of the provincial parliament became a director: Femke Dingemans (D66) at the Brabantse Milieufederatie and Hermen Vreugdenhil (ChristenUnie-SGP) at Collectief Rivierenland. Marcel Deryckere (CDA) became ‘Advisor Public Affairs and Stakeholder Management’ at Essent.
Joistle for positions
Most MPs left D66. A real scramble for seats took place within that faction: of the five original members of Parliament, only Ine Meeuwis stayed. The remaining four seats changed hands seven times. Liesbeth Sjouw took her place in the States in August 2019, left in December 2020 to become an alderman and has been back since May 2022.
After D66, the VVD with 6 and the CDA with 5 changes come in second and third place in the ranking. The provision of three and two deputies, respectively, is included.
Various reasons
Six members of parliament stopped for various reasons. For example, it concerns private matters or a new job. One member of Parliament moves to a municipality outside Brabant. In addition to a change of career, collapsing parties and private issues, we permanently lost two members of Parliament: Rinus van Weert (50PLUS) and Gaby Scholder-Penders (VVD), both passed away during the last term of office.
Source: Omroep Brabant
Translator: Martijn
