GroenLinks MP Corinne Ellemeet believes the House of Representatives should look at ways to lighten the workload. According to her, many MEPs suffer from stress, work pressure and physical ailments.

She also expresses her concern about the political climate in general. “What really sets in alongside the extremely long workdays is hatred, insults, aggression and contempt,” Ellemeet wrote in a message on LinkedIn. She then shared this message on Twitter. According to Ellemeet, MPs have become “at the mercy of public opinion”.

Ellemeet is making her statements in a week when VVD MP Ockje Tellegen announced her resignation from the chamber over overwork and party leader Esther Ouwehand temporarily resigned over overwork.

Ellemeet sees the problems facing these MPs as “the tip of the iceberg,” she tells the NOS, and says they are much broader and bigger than just long working days. Ellemeet regularly experiences the political climate as “uncertain”. Ellemeet: “One moment you’re being mocked, the next you’re being canonized”.

She says being able to take a beating is part of the job, but “the intensity with which you’re kicked is not normal.”

overuse

The workload in the House of Representatives and in the Cabinet has been discussed for some time. Many politicians have dropped out in recent years due to overwork. For this reason, MPs Omtzigt and Van der Molen, among others, resigned from their jobs. The outgoing Economics and Climate Minister Van ‘t Wout (VVD) also found himself at home with a burnout. Health Minister Bruno Bruins collapsed at the start of the Corona crisis while speaking in the House of Representatives.

And on Tuesday, party leader Esther Ouwehand of the Party for the Animals announced that she would be absent for the coming months. She had previously suffered from burnout.

VVD member Tellegen, who announced her departure this week, was in the house for eleven years and was, among other things, deputy chairwoman of the house. She described Kamerwerk as a top sport. Like Ouwehand, she spoke of the danger of “robbery” of one’s own person.

Ellemeet, MP for GroenLinks, says she “always remains respectful” in debates or criticism. “Because I think often enough: You will become a minister. Take for example the amount of comments I’m already getting about my looks.

“If we want sensible, normal people to continue to choose the profession of MP or minister, we all have to contribute to a climate of respect. After all, who still wants to do this job?”