Minister for Health, Hugo de Jonge, becomes leader of CDA party

Minister for Health, Hugo de Jonge, is now the leader of the CDA party. He won by a small margin against Pieter Omtzigt. 

Minister de Jonge has been one of the most recognisable faces in Dutch politics in recent weeks, as he has served as Minister for Health during the coronavirus crisis. The CDA has been looking for a new leader since May, when party leader Sybrand Buma became Mayor of Leeuwarden.

MP Pieter Heerma then became chairman of the group, but announced that he did not want to become its leader. This morning, he announced the results of the leadership election. Minister de Jonge got 50.7% of the vote, while Pieter Omtzigt got 49.3%.

The Dutch Christian Democrats are about to announce the new top parliamentary candidate (lijsttrekker) in an unexpectedly exciting contest between the current Health Minister and an unpredictable dark-horse gadfly who led an expose of racism at the tax service. /1

— Matt Steinglass Ở NHÀ LÀ YÊU NƯỚC (@mattsteinglass) July 15, 2020

It was expected that De Jonge would have an easy victory, after Minister for Finance Wopke Hoekstra decided not to run. However, Omtzigt’s efforts made the race exciting, De Jonge said. “Incredibly exciting. So close together.” He said he was really impressed with Omtzigt’s efforts. “We are going to do this together.”

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Feature Image: Abuzer van Leeuwen/Supplied.