Lijsttrekker

Lijsttrekker (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈlɛistˌtrɛkər], 'list puller') is a Dutch term used in the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname for the top candidate of a party on a party list.

This person is almost always the party's political leader. After an election, this person usually leads the party's parliamentary group in the States-General, or serves in a senior position in the Cabinet if the person's party is part of the governing coalition. The Prime Minister of the Netherlands almost always comes from among the lijsttrekkers in the previous election.

During the election campaign these persons attract the most attention, for example in lijsttrekker debates, where the lijsttrekkers debate important issues with other lijsttrekkers on television. For example, in the 2003 elections, Wouter Bos was lijsttrekker for the social-democratic Labour Party; the recovery of the PvdA in that period is often credited to his personality. If, however, the party is unsuccessful in the elections, the lijsttrekker will often resign their post or leave politics entirely. This for instance happened to Thom de Graaf, who instead of gaining seats as expected, lost a seat in the Dutch general election of 2003. Often parties also have a celebrity or well-known politician in the last place of the party list as lijstduwer ("list pusher").

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