Justice Min. Yesilgöz wants to succeed Rutte as VVD leader

Justice Minister Dilan Yesilgöz wants to succeed Mark Rutte and become the new leader of the VVD. She has put herself forward as a candidate for party leader, the party announced after a report by the Telegraaf. According to the newspaper, the party board put her forward as a preferred candidate for the leader, but the VVD said that the preferred candidate will not be chosen until later this week.

“What Mark Rutte has done for the VVD and for the Netherlands can hardly be expressed in words. It is his shoulders that I stand on if I succeed him as party leader,” Yesilgöz said in the Telegraaf. She said she is ready to make the Netherlands stronger and more resilient. “Safer, more prosperous, and ready for the future. With an eye and ear for the interests of the people for whom we do it, the inhabitants of the Netherlands.”

The Justice Minister also said she is ready to be Prime Minister. “As far as you can be fully prepared for this role in advance. But I have handled many different portfolios and fulfilled many political roles in recent years. I now bring a mountain of experience, including being able to quickly master content and information. That provides a solid basis to continue working on,” she said in the Telegraaf.

The Minister, who has been outgoing since the Cabinet collapsed this weekend, said on Tuesday that she does not know whether she will make a shot at the VVD party leadership. “I’m still thinking about that myself. At the moment, I’m not going to say much about it at all,” Yesilgöz told NOS with a smile.

Yesilgöz is one of the main VVD members mentioned to become party leader. Some contenders have already dropped out. For example, parliamentary faction chairman Sophie Hermans said on Tuesday evening that she did not want to become the party leader. Edith Schippers announced on Monday that she was not available, and Klaas Dijkhoff and Jeanine Hennis are also not interested in the role. Besides Yesilgöz, only former parliamentarian Andre Bosman has stepped forward. But his chances are considered not great.

Rutte announced on Monday that he would not seek re-election after nearly 13 years as Prime Minister.