Choosing a Party with Libelle: the photo album of Kees van der Staaij (SGP)
We can vote again on March 17th . To get into the mood, we will give you a picture of the person behind the politician in the near future. This time: Kees van der Staaij (SGP).
We know Cornelis Gerrit van der Staaij (52) as a politician , but who is he as a person? How was his childhood, who are his loved ones? Libelle looked it up for you.
5 FACTS ABOUT KEES VAN DER STAAIJ
Household: Married to Marlies, two children: Michaël (20) and Camila (17)
Education: Law in Leiden
Favorite music: Classical, especially a fan of Bach
Holiday country: Italy
Dish: Pea soup
Kees was a happy baby, and you can see that in this photo. He himself calls it a photo 'which all parents used to think was unique'. Is Kees less cheerful now? No, you say you will not easily catch him in a morning mood.
When Kees was growing up he had a hobby: fishing. However, those fish didn't always want to bite. The politician even once took a picture with someone else's fish, because he really didn't manage to catch one.
Anyone who thinks Kees doesn't like a challenge is wrong. Here's a picture of him reading the newspaper on the roof of his childhood home. "My parents lived in Rhenen. I had a room in the attic and I wanted to enjoy my newspaper on the roof and the beautiful view over Veenendaal." Kees' parents were of course less happy about this.
Kees was interested in politics from an early age. When he was in the Chamber for twenty years, his employees posted this photo of him on Twitter. "Members of parliament rotate so quickly these days. I give young people time to develop."
The politician has not only gained experience in the House, he has also been employed. "In the service I learned that there is always new energy, exactly when you think: I can't do it anymore! It was also special to have intensive contact with all those different people from all layers of society."
A snapshot from the House: here you see the politician defending a proposal from LPF in the Senate. “Mat Herben of the LPF had submitted an initiative proposal not to transfer powers to the EU. We accepted that proposal, he said: 'The SGP will always remain in the House, even if the LPF disappears.' That was right, they disappeared and so I am in this photo defending the proposal in the Senate.”
Here you see a touching photo of Kees' children. They come from Colombia and were adopted by Kees and his wife Marlies. "Here we are for Camila, we were allowed to adopt Michael two years earlier."
Kees and Marlies have been married for 27 years this year. They got to know each other through the student association. "I was on the board with her brother and that's how I met her. In 2019 we were married for 25 years. We went on vacation as a family in Israel that year." The politician greatly appreciated that, because now that his children are older, it is no longer so obvious that they go on holiday.
We stay in the spheres of Israel for a while. Kees regrets that an Israeli restaurant in Amsterdam has been attacked several times. "I think you should be able to stand up for who you are, without it giving rise to violence."
Kees is not only a politician who stands for what he finds important, he is also quite creative. He was the tenth speaker at the General Political Reflections in 2019. How do you manage to get some attention? Right, by bringing a painting with you. "For me, this painting by Rembrandt represents the grace that our society needs."
Choosing a party with Libelle... Columnist Ebru Umar put the questions to the politician. Will it be yes? Or will it be no? The ping pong bats provide the answer.
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