More MPs leave the PVV as the election candidate list is published

Three MPs for the anti-immigration PVV are being forced out of parliament and one has already quit the party – the fourth to leave in under a week.


Jhim van Bemmel stood down as a PVV supporter on Friday after being told he would not be returning to parliament after the September general election.
MPs Richard de Mos and Eric Lucassen are also off the list of candidates. All three MPs were the focus of considerable media attention following their election to parliament in June 2010.
Lies
Van Bemmel was given a six-week speaking ban by party leader Geert Wilders in November 2010 for lying about his criminal convictions. Bemmel has a 2006 conviction for fraud involving cargo shipments.
Former army sergeant Eric Lucassen lied about his criminal record for having an inappropriate relationship with an army recruit and intimidating his neighbours. Richard de Mos was forced to admit he was never a school director as claimed in his official cv and interviews.
De Mos said the decision not to include him on the list of PVV election candidates is ‘a giant blow’. Wilders had told him he wants to ‘renew and rejuvenate’ the party and that he did not fit in, the 36-year-old told the Volkskrant.
De Mos is also a member of the PVV on The Hague city council and is ‘considering his position’, the Volkskrant quoted him as saying.
Dominance
Last week, Marcial Hernandez and Wim Kortenoeven said they were leaving the PVV immediate effect because of the dominant role in the movement played by its founder Geert Wilders. Hero Brinkman left to set up his own party earlier this year for the same reason.
According to opinion polls, the party is set to win between 18 and 24 seats in the September 12 vote.
The NRC’s political correspondent Huib Modderkolk says ‘it is notable how little change there is’. The two highest newcomers Reinette Klever and Machiel de Graaf already represent the party in the senate, he pointed out.

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