Local VVD leader: Second class trains are not "for our people"

The Gelderland VVD council members must not travel in second class, said faction leader Hans de Haan. Second class is not "for our people," De Haan said to broadcaster Omroep Gelderland, adding that party members should only travel in first class. He is trying to arrange first-class train passes for them. The announcement by De Haan caused dissatisfied responses from other political parties. "What is good enough for people is good enough for elected representatives," said Eric van Kaathoven, the Gelderland SP faction leader. "It is not that they have to travel every day and need the peace and space to work on the train." The VVD chairman Henry Keizer said he did not support the regional faction's decision. "Provincial factions have their own conduct but unwillingness to travel second class is not what VVD stands for," said Keizer. He told RTL Nieuws that the statements by De Haan are "not worthy" of the VVD. A VVD council member of Gelderland Anja Prins said that she always travels second class. She said the statement of De Haan was taken out of context. Members of the provincial council use the so-called business card, which allows to travel first class without extra costs, according to Prins.