Politicians chose children over career

Two leading Dutch politicians have announced that they are leaving politics to dedicate more time to their families. Journalist Hanneke Groentemann praises them in the Internet forum Joop.nl and calls for more commitment to finding a balance between career and family: "My confusion about the resignation [of social democratic leading candidate] Wouter Bos has become mixed with anger at the explosiveness that it has injected into the debate - while all the women who don't manage to combine a demanding career with their domestic duties are basically seen as losers. ... In the past few years Wouter Bos has proven that he is no sissy and I think it's good that he is now placing the interests of three small children above what is referred to as national interests. ... But this doesn't obscure the fact that we're talking about a bigger problem here: politics still doesn't do enough to ensure that people (most of them women) who want to use their qualities and talents for the public good are also able to do the same at home."

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