2023-05-16 10:32:33
“Almost 56!” Van der Plas corrects Ruud when Ruud introduces her. She notes that she is slowly creeping towards the age of 60, something she dreads. “60, then you really become an older person in the experience. Of course it doesn’t feel that way, because I still feel 30, so to speak.”
Loss
A lot has happened in those 56 years. An impressive career, children, and a painful divorce and the loss of her second husband. “I remember very well, when he had just passed away, you had to fill in forms. And then you get: ‘what is your status? Married, cohabiting, single?’ And I was actually supposed to fill in ‘single’. But I thought, I’m not single! I’m a widow. I had someone I loved, and he’s gone…”
It is still a great loss. And the fact that she’s been in the spotlight in recent years makes being a widow extra difficult. “His life would of course also have changed enormously. And I would like to talk about that.” She also often misses an outlet at the end of the day. “He was very caring, always had a glass of wine ready when I got home, or a cup of coffee in the morning, or made breakfast.”
Political success
Because that there is a lot of talk about her, in a positive and negative sense, is a fact. She has now been active in the House of Representatives for 2 years and her party BBB was the big winner in the Provincial Council elections of 2023. So she is going like a rocket, but when asked whether she sees herself as the new Pim Fortuyn, she firmly answers ‘ no’. “I am not the new Pim Fortuyn. For me, Pim Fortuyn is still on a slightly higher level. He was also literate, had studied and was a professor. I think that is of a slightly different order. His popularity was also much bigger than mine.”
But that humble attitude doesn’t stop the BBB frontwoman from dreaming big. The premiership beckons. And emotionally, Van der Plas is ready for it. “Well, if I become a prime minister who focuses entirely on the Netherlands,” she explains. “If you are prime minister, and you are also very involved in geopolitical matters, and a lot abroad, and very violent things are happening in the Netherlands – I am not talking about disasters, but I am talking about the benefits scandal, Groningen, waiting lists at the GGZ, the elderly who have to lie in a diaper because there are not enough healthcare personnel – and then deal with so many foreign matters, I couldn’t do that.” Still, she admits it’s part of the job. “But you could also appoint someone else for that. Like Luns used to do, Minister of Foreign Affairs, who handled politics outside the Netherlands.”
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