Former State Secretary Ingrid Coenradie of Justice and Security is swapping the PVV for JA21, she said in an interview with AD. She wants to join a more “realistic” party than Geert Wilders’, she said.
Coenradie has been looking for a new party since Wilders toppled the Cabinet. She and Wilders clashed fiercely while the Cabinet was in office, particularly about her plan to alleviate the prison cell shortage by releasing convicts two weeks early.
Coenradie criticized Wilders in the interview. “I clashed with Geert about his totally idiotic, downright dangerous plan to solve the cell shortage by putting eight people in one cell,” she said. And the rent freeze he kept insisting on was like free beer, she said. “It’s just not possible. That quickly became clear.”
JA21 leader Joost Eerdmans, whom she knows from her time at Leefbaar Rotterdam, approached her. “What appeals to me is that the party has a right-wing course, but is also realistic and pragmatic,” Coenradie said.
She wants to continue in national politics. “I really think I can add something, but honestly, I was completely out of it because of the fall of the Cabinet. I was really in mourning. You’re on a train, you think you’re doing good things, and suddenly someone pulls the emergency brake. That’s how it felt.”
JA21 nominated Eerdmans as party leader for the upcoming parliamentary election. Coenradie does not aspire to that role. “I may be a vote-getter, but not a leader. I am glad that Joost is taking on that role. The debates you have to participate in are about who can deliver the best sneer. It is harsh, it is personal. As a voter, I could really get annoyed by that. But I also have to be honest: I could not do that. I would be the prey among sharks.”
Eerdmans said that Coenradie was a valuable reinforcement for JA21. “She takes clear positions, driven by an inner conviction that you notice in everything she does,” he told ANP. “Her way of doing politics is powerful and credible. We warmly welcome her to our growing party.”