View source for 2006 People's Party for Freedom and Democracy leadership election

{{Infobox election
| election_name = 2006 People's Party for Freedom and Democracy leadership election
| country = Netherlands
| flag_image = Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (nl) Logo.svg
| type = leadership
| previous_election = 
| previous_year = 
| election_date = {{Start date|2006|05|31|df=y}}
| next_election = 2023 People's Party for Freedom and Democracy leadership election
| next_year = 2023
| image1 = [[File:MarkRutte.jpg|150x150px|Mark Rutte]]
| candidate1 = [[Mark Rutte]]
| colour1 = 262b6a
| popular_vote1 = '''14,777'''
| percentage1 = '''51.5%'''

<!--        person 2        -->| image2 = [[File:Rita Verdonk.jpg|150x150px|Rita Verdonk]]
| candidate2 = [[Rita Verdonk]]
| colour2 = 262b6a
| popular_vote2 = 13,131
| percentage2 = 45.5%

<!--        person 3        -->| image3 = [[File:Jelleke Veenendaal 2006 (1).jpg|150x150px|Jelleke Veenendaa]]
| candidate3 = [[Jelleke Veenendaal]]
| colour3 = 262b6a
| popular_vote3 = 803
| percentage3 = 3.0%
| title = Leader
| posttitle = Leader-elect
| before_election = [[Jozias van Aartsen]]
| after_election = [[Mark Rutte]]
}}

The 2006 [[People's Party for Freedom and Democracy]] leadership election was called to elect the new [[Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy]] after incumbent [[Jozias van Aartsen]] announced his retirement from national politics. [[Mark Rutte]] the [[List of Ministers of Education of the Netherlands#List of State Secretaries for Education|State Secretary for Education, Culture and Science]] closely beat [[Rita Verdonk]] the [[List of Ministers of Justice of the Netherlands#List of Ministers without Portfolio|Minister for Integration, Immigration and Asylum Affairs]] and [[backbencher]] [[House of Representatives (Netherlands)|Member of the House of Representatives]] [[Jelleke Veenendaal]].

==Background==
After the [[2006 Dutch municipal elections|2006 municipal elections]] [[Jozias van Aartsen]] stepped down as [[Parliamentary leader]] in the [[House of Representatives (Netherlands)|House of Representatives]] and announced that he would not be [[Lijsttrekker|top candidate]] for the [[2006 Dutch general election|next elections]]. The VVD leadership had consciously campaigned in the municipal election on a national ticket. The party however did not reach the set goal of 15% of the votes and actually lost 1.5% of the votes. To fill his position of political leader of the VVD, an internal election was scheduled.

==Candidates==
{{Clear}}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Candidate !! Born !! Position(s) at that time !! Former position(s) !! Notable endorsements !! Views
|-
| [[File:MarkRutte.jpg|120px|Mark Rutte]] <br/> '''[[Mark Rutte]]''' || 14 February 1967 <br/> (age {{age nts|1967|02|14|2006|05|31}}) || [[List of Ministers of Education of the Netherlands#List of State Secretaries for Education|State Secretary for Education, <br/> Culture and Science]] <br/> (since 2004) || [[List of Ministers of Social Affairs of the Netherlands#List of State Secretaries for Social Affairs|State Secretary for Social <br/> Affairs and Employment]] <br/> (2002–2004) <br/> [[House of Representatives (Netherlands)|Member of the House of Representatives]] <br/> (2003) || [[Gerrit Zalm]] <br/> [[Frank de Grave]] <br/> [[Ivo Opstelten]] <br/> [[Henk Kamp]] <br/> [[Ed Nijpels]] <br/> [[Jan van Zanen]] <br/> [[Hans Hoogervorst]] || [[Liberalism]] <br/> [[Centre-right politics|Centre-right]]
|-
| [[File:Rita Verdonk.jpg|120px|Rita Verdonk]] <br/> '''[[Rita Verdonk]]''' || 18 October 1955 <br/> (age {{age nts|1955|10|18|2006|05|31}}) || [[List of Ministers of Justice of the Netherlands#List of Ministers without Portfolio|Minister for Integration, Immigration <br/> and Asylum Affairs]] <br/> (since 2003) || || [[Frits Bolkestein]] <br/> [[Hans Wiegel]] <br/> [[Neelie Kroes]] <br/> [[Frans Weisglas]] <br/> [[Ayaan Hirsi Ali]] <br/> <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2006/04/04/een-uitgekiende-mediaweek-van-rita-verdonk-11107572-a406193|title=Een uitgekiende mediaweek van Rita Verdonk|publisher=NRC Handelsblad|date=4 April 2006|accessdate=17 February 2018|language=nl}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2006/05/10/frits-bolkestein-steunt-rita-verdonk-11126889-a1210567|title=Frits Bolkestein steunt Rita Verdonk|publisher=NRC Handelsblad|date=10 May 2006|accessdate=17 February 2018|language=nl}}</ref> || [[Conservatism]] <br> [[Right-wing politics|Right-wing]]
|-
| [[File:Jelleke Veenendaal 2006 (1).jpg|120px|Jelleke Veenendaal]] <br/> '''[[Jelleke Veenendaal]]''' || 15 December 1953 <br/> (age {{age nts|1953|12|15|2006|05|31}}) || [[House of Representatives (Netherlands)|Member of the House of Representatives]] <br/> (since 2003) || ||
|
|-
|}
{{notelist}}

Three VVD members put forth their candidacy.

*'''[[Mark Rutte]]''': the current [[List of Ministers of Education of the Netherlands#List of State Secretaries for Education|State Secretary for Education, Culture and Science]] was the first to put forth his candidacy. His candidacy was backed by the VVD leadership, including the party board. Rutte was the former chairman of the VVD's youth organisation, the [[Youth Organisation Freedom and Democracy]] and was also backed by them. After studying history and leading the JOVD Rutte became manager for [[Unilever]]. In 2002 he became [[List of Ministers of Social Affairs of the Netherlands#List of State Secretaries for Social Affairs|State Secretary for Social Affairs and Employment]]. After a cabinet reshuffle he became State Secretary for Education, Culture and Science. Rutte was generally perceived to be on the progressive side of the VVD. He promised "to make the VVD a party for everyone and not just of the elite". His youthful and charismatic appearance have been likened to the leader of the [[Labour Party (Netherlands)|Labour Party]] [[Wouter Bos]]. Rutte was coordinator of the municipal election campaign of the VVD, which caused Van Aartsen's downfall.
*'''[[Jelleke Veenendaal]]''': she quite unexpectedly put forth her candidacy. She has only been a [[House of Representatives (Netherlands)|Member of the House of Representatives]] since 2003. Before that she worked as [[medical analyst]] and a management consultant. In parliament she has been a backbencher. She entered the race when only Rutte was candidate, claiming that without a counter-candidate, the race would be a sham. She entered the race without consulting the party board, though she did consult her husband. She was generally seen as having no chance to win the elections.
*'''[[Rita Verdonk]]''': the current [[List of Ministers of Justice of the Netherlands#List of Ministers without Portfolio|Minister for Integration, Immigration and Asylum Affairs]] was last to put forth her candidacy, after a lot of attention from the media. Her candidacy was not backed by the VVD leadership. She was often polled as the most popular minister within the [[Second Balkenende cabinet|cabinet]] and was backed by many individual VVD members. Verdonk entered politics in 2003, when she became minister, she had only been member of the VVD for three years, she had been active within the [[Pacifist Socialist Party]] and had voted for the [[Labour Party (Netherlands)|Labour Party]] before 2002. Verdonk was generally seen to be representative to the conservative and populist wing of the VVD. She has proposed cutting taxes and has appealed to the entrepreneurial spirit. She was known as 'Iron Rita', for her stances on immigration and integration and her steadfast politics. She has recruited former [[Kay van der Linden]] as her campaign manager, who was also involved in [[Pim Fortuyn]]'s 2002 election campaign. Verdonk has never been a [[House of Representatives (Netherlands)|Member of the House of Representatives]] and could therefore according to Dutch law not enter parliament if she would have won the internal election.

==Results==
{{wikinews|Rutte elected leader of the VVD}}
An independent committee oversaw the elections. 28,788 people voted in this election, which was 74% of the eligible VVD members. They voted mostly by telephone and via Internet. The full results were presented on May 31, 2006, in Hotel Okura in Amsterdam, where it was announced that Mark Rutte obtained 51.5% of the vote and won the election. Rita Verdonk came in second, with 45.5% of the vote. Jelleke Veenendaal obtained 3.0% of the vote.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://vorige.nrc.nl/binnenland/article1688298.ece/Mark_Rutte_nieuwe_lijsttrekker_VVD |title=Mark Rutte nieuwe lijsttrekker VVD |website=NRC |language=Dutch |accessdate=31 May 2006}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2686/Binnenland/article/detail/770523/2006/05/31/Rutte-lijsttrekker-VVD.dhtml |title=Rutte lijsttrekker VVD |website=Volkskrant |language=Dutch |accessdate=25 August 2014}}</ref>

It is generally expected that Mark Rutte will step down as staatssecretaris and become [[fractievoorzitter]] of the VVD parliamentary party because according to the VVD's Liberal Manifesto the party's leader should either be [[Prime Minister of the Netherlands]] or the [[Parliamentary leader]] in the [[House of Representatives (Netherlands)|House of Representatives]].

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

{{People's Party for Freedom and Democracy}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:People's Party for Freedom and Democracy leadership election, 2006}}
[[Category:People's Party for Freedom and Democracy]]
[[Category:2006 elections in the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Political party leadership elections in the Netherlands]]
[[Category:2006 political party leadership elections|People's Party for Freedom and Democracy leadership election]]