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The candidate Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management Harbers started his political career in 1992 with the VVD as a district councilor for Kralingen-Crooswijk Rotterdam and will work closely with Vivianne Heijnen (CDA), State Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management in his ministry. Harbers himself was already in the Chamber during Rutte III. In that cabinet he was State Secretary for Justice and Security, until he had to resign on 21 May 2019 because of incorrect information to the House about incidents involving asylum seekers.

Mark Harbers was born in Ede on April 19, 1969 and lives in Rotterdam. Between 1995 and 2005 he was a member of the party's main board and in 2006 he went to work in The Hague, then as political assistant to Minister of Finance Gerrit Zalm.

"In our beautiful Netherlands, we have everything we need to achieve this, and we have shown this for centuries. I will get to work for you with enthusiasm and a piece of Rotterdam decisiveness."

The down-to-earth and optimistic Rotterdammer Markus Gerardus Jozef Harbers was financial spokesman for the VVD parliamentary party and since March 2017 fraction secretary and first deputy chairman of the House of Representatives. He was also chairman of the government expenditure committee and political advisor to Gerrit Zalm. As a member of parliament, he is spokesperson for climate, energy policy and nitrogen policy

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Mark Harbers - VVD

Vivianne Heijnen is the only Limburger to become State Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management. Drs. VLWA Heijnen, 38, from Maastricht, is currently an alderman in her hometown.

more competition

If Harbers wants to implement the VVD party program, public transport is important for freedom of choice in traffic. It is indispensable, especially in busy areas such as the Randstad. VVD wants more transfer points where all kinds of transport come together. This way you can easily transfer from the train to, for example, a shared car. Plan, book and pay for the entire trip in advance via an app. The largest party in the Netherlands wants to make public transport more customer-friendly in non-urban areas. The passenger's demand must be central and not the carrier's offer. Empty buses are a waste of money and the environment. The party also wants more competition in public transport. Public tenders provide travelers with more and better public transport.

De positions we read from the VVD that as a gateway to Western Europe, Schiphol is crucial to our economy. The hub function certainly attracts various companies to our country. That is the reason for the support package for KLM in the corona crisis. A KLM bankruptcy would have dramatic consequences for Schiphol. To ensure shorter and more efficient routes, the VVD wants a single European airspace. Housing construction and the development of companies in the vicinity of airports must remain possible. We also want the airports in Eindhoven, Rotterdam and Lelystad to expand.

resigned

In April 2009 Harbers, together with his party colleague Jeannette Baljeu, resigned as alderman because of maintaining the Islamologist Tarik Ramadan as municipal advisor for integration. In May 2019, he resigned as State Secretary, after serious crimes were categorized under the heading 'other' in a report to the House of Representatives on incidents involving asylum seekers. As a result, the figures appeared to be obscured. Although he denied the latter, he acknowledged that the figures should not have been released that way. He took political responsibility for this.

Also read: VVD wants more competition in public transport

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