City council member quits after sleeping through online meeting; “I saw the cat more often” says colleague

An online meeting of the city council of Gennep, Limburg on July 19, council member Anieta Janssen was mostly unseen as she had apparently fallen asleep during the remote nighttime meeting. Colleagues of the SP politician said they had seen her pets more often than the council member during the online video call.

She has since resigned from her position.

"I saw the cat more often in the picture than her", SP faction leader Hans Frentz told AD.

Janssen herself rarely appeared on camera during the three-hour meeting. Her fellow council members had to content themselves looking at her bookshelf or glimpses of her cat. “First she logged on late, and then, you could only see the crown of her head”, Frentz said.

“Afterward, she was absent for the rest of the meeting. A colleague and I tried to reach out to her via text and phone call but she did not respond to either.”

Janssen also did not reply when Mayor of Gennep Hans Teunissen asked her a question.

The incident seemed to be only the tip of the iceberg. SP Gennep said they lost confidence in Janssen, given this was not the first time the councilor dozed off during a conference. The councilor had promised to improve her performance, yet her actions did not follow her words.