CDA MP Mustafa Amhaouch will not seek re-election for his party. This means that the list of names of politicians who have resigned in The Hague continues to grow. Amhaouch, a frequently heard voice of the CDA, was in the House of Representatives for nearly eight years. “This is a time when you make personal and business considerations.”

MP Limburg is involved in economic affairs and chairs the Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality committees. “There is a time to come and a time to go,” he said. ‘If you’re away for four years, then you absolutely have to do it for four years.’

As a Member of Parliament, Amhaouch said he has fought for a society that belongs to everyone. ‘Connection as the answer to polarization’, he wrote in X, formerly Twitter. He refused, in his own words, ‘to conform to the cynicism that prevailed among many in society.

Business

In BNR Nieuwsradio broadcasts, Amhaouch regularly comments on industrial and SME developments. He hopes that more and more people with business experience will be given roles in the DPR. Amhaouch worked between 2010 and 2016 at chip engine manufacturer ASML, among others.

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“I hope that our own party, CDA, is a reflection of society, and therefore that entrepreneurship will also be well represented in our group, but also in other parties,” he said. According to him, economic interest in the DPR is sometimes lacking. ‘In debates about caring, sometimes there are twenty parties in the DPR. If you talk about the economy and future earning capacity, there may only be five parties. It worries me.’

What Amhaouch will do after his term as Member of Parliament, he left open. In the next three remaining months as a politician, especially ‘the nail was hit with the head’, including when it came to SME-only banks, following the British example of the British Business Bank. ‘We will be on a working visit to England in two weeks. The minister is also interested in this. This could be a great ending.’

Featherball ‘nice pear’

According to Amhaouch, he would not abandon a sinking ship, even though his party had known more prosperous times. “There’s definitely room for new people.” Later today, the CDA will announce who will be the new party chairman. The council nominated 40-year-old Henri Bontenbal as Wopke Hoekstra’s successor. The Association Board will vote on the nominations today.

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“Henry was a fine pear and cut from the right cloth,” says Amhaouch. Still, he wouldn’t have it easy. “But we shouldn’t expect him to solve it alone. We are all there. And we have to put our hand on our chest, working on the things we don’t do well to get a second chance with voters.’ Amhaouch argued that Bontenbal could provide stability within the party and clear, substantive direction. ‘We support urban, rural and regional links.’