Laurens Dassen reappointed as Volt’s lead candidate for October elections

Laurens Dassen will again head Volt’s list in the Dutch general elections scheduled for October, the party announced. Dassen has served as Volt’s parliamentary leader in the Tweede Kamer since 2021, NOS reports.

Volt, which currently holds two seats in the chamber, is also placing sitting MP Marieke Koekkoek second on its list. The third, fourth, and fifth spots go to Rens de Boer, 36, from Amsterdam; Simone Ritzer, 32, from Utrecht; and Jeroen Princen, 59, from Schiedam.

According to the party, the list includes “people from all corners of society, who with their insights want to work toward a Netherlands that is green, social, and European.”

The party is a staunch advocate of deeper European cooperation. “In the current times, political challenges call for solutions across borders,” Dassen wrote on Volt’s website. Volt’s platform calls for the creation of a European army by 2030, with at least 250,000 soldiers.

Volt also proposes a European energy union aimed at ending the use of fossil fuels, jointly purchasing hydrogen at the European level, and expanding the role of nuclear power.

Volt will hold its party congress on August 30 to finalize the candidate list. Positions on the list could still change before then.