When Fred Teeven heard Wilders’ attack on Wednesday, the former secretary of state did not hesitate for a moment. “I immediately called Sophie and said: don’t let yourself know, just keep going. Let those Wilders have a good chat dude.”
Wilders asked how long Hermans still has the ambition to remain Rutte’s bag carrier. The VVD member broke down after these words. Watch that moment here.
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getting harder
Teeven saw the attack as confirmation: Hermans must become much harder. She has to work on that, he thinks. “I like Sophie behind the scenes. She was strong during the cabinet negotiations and I also hear good stories about how she leads the group.”
She is not weak in the debates, says Teeven. “But I also see things that are not yet good. She is not yet the party leader. She does have the gun factor within the VVD, but she does not yet have that among the voters. not become’. But that takes time and has to grow.”
A former MP for the VVD, who only wants to talk on the basis of anonymity, is not convinced. “She is a broken leg. She is too young and inexperienced to lead the faction of the largest party in the Netherlands. She has too little social experience to be able to do that properly. This is going wrong.”
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no big ego
The 41-year-old Sophie Hermans started in The Hague as a political assistant to VVD minister Stef Blok and later Prime Minister Rutte. Later on she became a member of the House of Representatives and vice-chairman of the group. She has been the leader of the most powerful party in our country for more than a year now. She succeeded Klaas Dijkhoff.
“She immediately stood out,” says Dijkhoff about her first steps at the Binnenhof as an employee of Minister Blok. “She is very substantive driven. A lot of people in The Hague find their own opinion very important, but it does not bother her,” says Dijkhoff.
“She’s not into drama. It’s not a theater with her. She doesn’t pretend to be anything else than she is. It’s all pure what you see,” says Dijkhoff. “She doesn’t have a big ego. That is special in The Hague.”
Connector
Before she became party chairman, Hermans was a co-negotiator with Rutte during the cabinet formation. Friend and foe alike praise her ability to connect. Also former informer Johan Remkes. “She played a very important role in the negotiations,” says Remkes. “Especially in building bridges towards the other negotiators CDA member Pieter Heerma and D66 member Rob Jetten.”
“She negotiates in a disarming way and does not immediately go into fight mode. She ignores herself, but is involved and informed in terms of content. Jetten had the same attitude and that clicked.”
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nuclear power plants
Annemarie Jorritsma (VVD party leader in the Senate) states that thanks in part to Hermans, the VVD has won a lot during those negotiations. “We have released a lot of extra money on defense and security. And climate is also important: we have removed two nuclear power stations.”
Is she right enough for the VVD? Teeven: “Let me not say anything about that now.” VVD-prominent Remkes does not like left- or right-wing labels to characterize a VVD member, ‘but I wouldn’t accuse her of left-wing sympathies’.
Cheerful and candid
One thing stands out: her vulnerability. Hermans is cheerful, empathetic and open-hearted in a political arena that is characterized by its harsh and sometimes even aggressive atmosphere.
Last Saturday Hermans gave a personal story during the members’ congress of the VVD. She also had to do something about that. She said that she says she is not where she is because she is the daughter of Loek Hermans. Or because she was Mark Rutte’s political assistant. But because she is Sophie Hermans.
Watch the excerpt from that speech here:
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That Sophie Hermans was born 41 years ago in Nijmegen. She was a fanatic hockey player, went to pre-university education and studied political science in Amsterdam. Her father is Loek Hermans, former Minister of Education. “The fact that she owes her success to her father really has nothing to do with it,” says Teeven.
But at the same time, her sister Caroliene was also Rutte’s political assistant after her.
Families
Hermans is single and a family man. Her younger brother Lodewijk is important to her, if only to put things into perspective. He is a father of two young children and an account manager at Alfons Freriks Logistics and has little interest in politics. “We call and text a lot. Then I make a silly comment or say: you were there again during the debate. Then we laugh. She has a huge dose of self-mockery.”
Lodewijk describes his sister as ‘super loving, mega attentive and involved’. “Although she is super busy, she is always committed and sympathizes with you. Still asks about things that happened weeks ago. In the summer the five of us go on holiday to Italy. We are very close.”
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Passed-away mother
Hermans also talked about her mother who died unexpectedly in 2014 during the congress. Her mother taught her to stand up for herself, Hermans said.
Erik Ziengs, former MP for the VVD, was touched by those words. “Her mother died at the same time as my son died. I have benefited a lot from her and her parents. It characterizes Sophie: she is extremely involved.”
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be rock hard
Ziengs cites her role as connector as her greatest strength. “But you do have to be tough in The Hague. Wilders has of course often said that she is a bag carrier, so that was not very surprising. But the bucket can sometimes overflow.”
There is also a lot at stake, he says. “Running such a fraction, all those problems that lie ahead, such as nitrogen. I think it’s human that you sometimes break.”
Teeven calls the job of party chairman ‘a dog job’. “They once asked me in 2010. I certainly didn’t want to. It is a thankless task, you walk after the prime minister like a dustpan all day long.”
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Pressure is huge
Former VVD MP Gert-Jan Oplaat also acknowledges that there is a lot on Hermans’ plate. “The pressure on her is of course enormous. And we are absolutely to blame for that.” Oplaat refers to the nitrogen discussion that is currently going on. He is a staunch opponent of the cabinet’s plans. For the former MP also the reason to cancel his VVD membership.
He criticizes Hermans a lot. “She does nothing but keep Rutte out of the wind. She has no spine. She has to become much more independent.”
Few flying hours
The anonymous former VVD MP also thinks so. “She’s not independent enough, she doesn’t develop up, but down. She hasn’t made enough flying hours. Someone who is that incompetent will have her head against the wall.”
Jorritsma calls that nonsense. “Sophie determines the strategy. I think she grows in that. She just doesn’t have such a big ego. I think someone can appreciate that. In that respect she resembles Rutte.”
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Former colleague Jasper Sterrenburg (39) sees a fighter in Hermans. He and Hermans were colleagues during her first job at Andersson Elfers Felix, an office for social issues in Utrecht. “She was a good advisor. Inside no time she became a senior. She’s a hard worker.”
But she was always there at parties and outings. Laughing: “At the time, she drove an old bright red Volkswagen Polo. She went to all the customers with that ugly thing. We always had a lot of fun with it during work. We still have regular contact. At the beginning of this year I became a managing partner. Sophie was one of the first to message.'”
Successor Rutte
Whether she can fill Mark Rutte’s shoes when he leaves? Jorritsma: “She knows that she is one of the possible candidates. But she does not propose herself as crown princess. She has to hit harder.”
Teeven thinks she has potential, but not yet. This requires patience. “Give her some time. It will take another 1.5 to 2 years before she becomes the real party leader. “Don’t forget: those debates by Rutte were not so good in the beginning.” Remkes also thinks that is much too early: ” A number of young plants will have to bloom under that tall Rutte tree, Sophie is one of the young plants.”
Remkes still sees an important task for Hermans as party chairman. “She will have to ensure that liberal answers are given to the problems of our time. Because that is not clear enough now. A substantive enrichment is needed within the VVD. During his time as party leader, Dijkhoff set up a basic story for the VVD , but she has to give color to that.”
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Not busy
Dijkhoff does not know whether Hermans has the ambition to succeed Rutte.
“Never thought about it either. Her motivation was and is substantive. There are probably people who already think about future positions and posts when applying for their VVD membership card, but Sophie is not like that. She is mainly busy doing it right. “
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