Job Cohen considers the criticism levelled at him by party chairman Lilianne Ploumen the lowest point in his period as Labour (PvdA) party leader, he told tv programme Buitenhof on Sunday.

Ploumen, who was announcing her departure from the job, told last Tuesday’s Volkskrant Cohen is not visible enough and must play a more prominent role.
Cohen said he had heard the criticism about his invisibility but that it is another matter entirely to put this in a newspaper.
He and Ploumen have discussed the matter so they can work together ‘adequately’ until her departure in January, he told Buitenhof.
After the budget debate he received a lot of support for his ‘polite’ way of conducting politics. Many people found the tone of the debate ‘terrible’. ‘I will not join in, so I am wading against the stream,’ he said.
Council of State
Cohen also told the programme he is introducing a motion against the possible candidature of home affairs minister Piet Hein Donner as vice chairman of the Council of State, which advises the government and parliament on legislation and governance.
It is ‘undesirable’ for members of the Council to judge laws they are responsible for as a minister, he said.