Who will be second on the CDA election list?

As the number of promiment Christian Democrats who are ducking out of active politics at the June election grows, speculation is mounting about who will be in second place on the CDA election list.

Number two will be the top choice to take over from prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende if the CDA does badly in the polls, as it is forecast to do.
Health minister Ab Klink and finance minister Jan Kees de Jager are hotly tipped for the position, and De Jager has already said he will stand for election as an MP on June 9.
Foreign minister Maxime Verhagen is also in the running, although some insiders say his chances have been damaged by the row over Nato’s request to the Netherlands to stay in Afghanistan.
Balkenende’s heir apparent Camiel Eurlings said last week he is leaving active politics for personal reasons.
Pressure
Balkenende was picked to lead the CDA campaign for the fourth time, just one day after the party’s poor showing in the local elections.
That decision has been criticised by regional party chiefs. ‘The criticism which is being made public is just the top of the iceberg,’ one CDA stalwart told the Volkskrant on Wednesday. ‘A small group wants to stay in power. The car is driving into a ravine but no-one is getting out.’
On Tuesday, long serving CDA MP Annie Schreijer-Pierik criticised the party’s board for adopting Balkenende as campaign leader too quickly.
‘I like Balkenende and he is not to blame for everything, but it all happened too fast,’ she said. ‘The board made its decision and said there were no alternatives. But no-one was asked.’
Electoral reform
Meanwhile, Marnix van Rij, who chaired the CDA between 1999 and 2001, said in an article in Tuesday’s NRC that the Netherlands is ripe for political renewal.
He called for the introduction of an elected prime minister and big city mayors plus a two-vote electoral system (one for the party and one for a person).
And he criticised the CDA for failing to take the initiative and give leadership to parliamentary reform efforts.

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