run in the 2006 VVD leadership election as -then only- candidate against Mark Rutte. She claimed that without another candidate the election would be a sham and that it was important that a woman ran. She did not discuss her ambition with the party board, but did consult her political friends. She was generally seen as a very unlikely candidate against the popular Rutte, who is backed by the party's board, and after Rita Verdonk entered the game, her chances have vanished entirely. In the debates set up around the election, Veenendaal shows herself more left and progressive than Verdonk and Rutte. She lost the elections to Rutte obtaining only 803 votes, 3% of the total. The same year she left politics. References 1953 births Living people Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) People's Party for Freedom and Democracy politicians People from Alkmaar Dutch women in politics