Independent Member of Parliament
On 13 September 2007, Verdonk criticised the direction of the VVD again. She said that the VVD was "invisible" in the debate about immigration. The party met to decide on the fate of Verdonk. Rutte said he wanted to expel Verdonk. Later that afternoon, news reports confirmed that Verdonk had been expelled. Rutte said that "Verdonk had damaged the reputation of the VVD due to remarks in the media far too often". Verdonk said she would continue in the House of Representatives and that she would not give up her seat. She also confirmed that she would not join the Partij voor de Vrijheid. Geert Wilders, leader of the PVV, was disappointed by this comment and said he still wanted to speak with Verdonk about a possible joint party. Prominent VVD members such as Hans Wiegel and Frans Weisglas spoke of a "disastrous" decision by Rutte. The next day, Verdonk said that she still needed some more time to think over her decision again, but Rutte declined this, and she was formally expelled from the parliamentary faction of the VVD on 14 September 2007.
In October 2007, the VVD party board gave her the option of either giving up her parliamentary seat, or face exclusion procedures from the party. Verdonk herself then announced that she would leave the party but stay in Parliament. After further consideration she announced the creation of a new political movement, Proud of the Netherlands (Trots op NL), that was launched in April, 2008.
According to the result of opinion polls published on December 6, 2009, Verdonks movement Trots op NL would win one seat in the Dutch parliament. In the 2010 elections she won no seat.
Read more about this topic: Rita Verdonk
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