Labour MPs, strategists unhappy with leader Job Cohen

A growing number of Labour (PvdA) MPs and strategists are unhappy with the performance of party leader Job Cohen, describing him as the wrong person for the job, magazine HP/De Tijd reports.


Cohen took over from Wouter Bos last year as potential new prime minister ahead of the general election. But Labour ended one seat behind the right-wing Liberal VVD, consigning Cohen, the former mayor of Amsterdam, to the opposition.
‘We have a non-leader,’ one MP told the magazine.
In particular, MPs say Cohen is a manager rather than an active politician. ‘In his current job, others are doing the organising and he should be more of a street fighter,’ said another MP. ‘But he is too well-mannered and intellectual to do this.’
The PvdA has 30 seats in parliament, one less than the VVD. However, its support has gone down since last year’s vote.

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