Fmr. GroenLinks leader wants to return to parliament

Former GroenLinks leader Bram van Ojik may return to the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament. His name is on the 10th spot on GroenLinks list of candidates, which was presented on Sunday, NRC reports.

Van Ojik, 62, decided to step down as GroenLinks leader halfway through his term in may last year. He handed over the reigns of the party to current leader 30-year-old Jesse Klaver.

According to the party, Klaver approached Van Ojik himself because he thinks he can make good use of the former party leader's experience. Van Ojik thinks that he can only add value to the party if it is a large faction in the Kamer, which is why his name is in the 10th spot on the list.

Van Ojik does have a lot of experience in The Hague, according to NRC. In the 90's he occupied a seat in the Kamer and he worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a long time.

GroenLinks rose in the polls after Klaver was appointed party leader, but in recent weeks the party's popularity dropped somewhat. Currently various polls has the green party at between 10 and 15 seats in the Tweede Kamer.