Keijzer leaves BBB after being passed over for leadership, will serve as independent
Mona Keijzer, a member of the Dutch House of Representatives and until Monday the party’s vice premier, is leaving the BBB and will continue as an independent legislator. In an interview with De Telegraaf, she said she had expected to succeed party founder Caroline van der Plas as leader, but Henk Vermeer was chosen instead. Keijzer called the decision “a major breach of trust.”
Earlier, it emerged that the BBB faces internal turmoil after the party announced Friday that Vermeer would succeed Van der Plas as party leader and parliamentary faction chair, bypassing Keijzer. The move drew criticism from senior party members and confusion among the party’s voter base, NOS reported.
Three prominent BBB figures—Senate member Robert van Gasteren, outgoing State Secretary for Defense Gijs Tuinman, and former House member Claudia van Zanten—sent a joint letter to the party board, Vermeer, and Van der Plas expressing dissatisfaction with the leadership transition. “It is not about Henk Vermeer personally, whom we respect for his dedication and expertise. But in Mona, we have a highly experienced politician and administrator and a vote-getter who appeals to the general public and was once seen as a potential prime minister,” the letter said.
Sources told NOS that the decision to appoint Vermeer was made by three of the four-member parliamentary faction on Feb. 13. Keijzer had nearly matched Van der Plas in votes during the last election, while Vermeer, fourth on the list, received only about 3,500 votes. A vote by the parliamentary faction to confirm the new leader is scheduled for Tuesday.
An RTL Nieuwspanel survey found that 55 percent of BBB supporters prefer Keijzer as leader, while only 7 percent support Vermeer. Voters described Vermeer as a “gray figure,” “quiet mouse,” and “too unknown.” One said, “If Caroline had handed over to Mona Keijzer, I would vote BBB in the next municipal elections, but now I will not. Henk Vermeer seems like a strong second-in-command, not a leader.”
