Labour (PvdA) party leader Job Cohen said on Tuesday afternoon he takes the criticism of his performance to heart and will do something about it.

He was responding to remarks made earlier in the day by party chairman Lilianne Ploumen during the announcement of her resignation.
Ploumen said Cohen was ‘not visible enough’ and that he should be doing more about the modernisation of social-democracy and about creating a partnership between left-wing parties.
‘It’s the party chairman’s job to be critical if that is necessary,’ Cohen told the press. ‘She is not the first and she certainly won’t be the last.’
He said Labour is not doing well enough and he shares her concerns about this, but pointed out he has taken the initiative to talk about modernising the party with six of its departments.
Split reactions
Marleen Barth, who leads the PvdA in the senate, or upper house of parliament, said she did not think Ploumen’s comments should generate a debate about Cohen’s future and that she has complete faith in him.
‘I did not hear her say Cohen should go. And as far as I am concerned, that is not an issue. The PvdA has one political leader and that is Job Cohen,’ she told the press.
However, former Rotterdam mayor and PvdA stalwart Bram Peper said he believes the party is ‘almost dead’.
‘Things are not going well… the party hardly functions as a political association any more,’ Peper is quoted as saying in the Telegraaf. ‘It is also clear Cohen is not in the right place,’ he said.
However, Ploumen herself should take the blame for the party’s low profile. ‘She is a full-time chairman and can always get involved,’ said Peper.
Several PvdA MPs have also commented on the row. Jetta Klijnsma told the Volkskrant the party leader should get out and about, but said it is wrong to accuse Cohen of being invisible.
Mayor
Cohen, the former Amsterdam mayor, was parachuted in as leader before the previous election when Wouter Bos said he was stepping out of politics.
But Labour failed to win a majority of seats in the July election, and Cohen found himself defacto leader of the opposition. Commentators say this is a role he has never appeared comfortable in and he has been repeatedly criticised for his weak debating skills.
Since the election, at which the party took 30 seats, Labour’s fortunes have plunged in the opinion polls, with some forecasting its vote would be almost halved if there was an election tomorrow.
Last week, a number of local PvdA groups said they were organising a campaign to try to revive the party’s fortunes and re-establish it as the main party of the left.