Hoekstra, Minister of Finance, would then be the successor of Hugo de Jonge, who announced earlier tonight that he would not be able to combine ministry with the party leader position.
View the statement De Jonge gave tonight here:
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“The unprecedented crisis that the Netherlands is experiencing has been demanding my time and energy for months,” De Jonge wrote in a statement he published on Twitter. “This will also be the case in the coming months.”
The realization that the combination was not feasible has grown over the past weeks and months, he said in an explanation later tonight. “The approach to the corona crisis after the summer became increasingly intensive, also in the energy that this entails.”
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Hoekstra’s appointment would be striking, since he indicated at an earlier stage that he did not want to be considered for the position. Ultimately, it was between Pieter Omtzigt and De Jonge who would be the party leader. In an election last summer, De Jonge was narrowly elected.
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