Farid Azarkan (born 16 October 1971) is a Moroccan-born Dutch politician serving as

Leader Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...

DENK Denk may refer to: People *Jeremy Denk (born 1970), American classical pianist * Michael K. Denk, Canadian professor of chemistry * Paula Denk (1908–1978), German actress *Ralph Denk (born 1973), German cyclist and cycling manager *Ulrike Denk ( ...

since 26 September 2020. He has been a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

since 23 March 2017 and

parliamentary leader A parliamentary leader is a political title or a descriptive term used in various countries to designate the person leading a parliamentary group or caucus in a legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. They are the ...

since 21 March 2020. Azarkan is the ''

lijsttrekker In politics, a lead candidate (; , ) is the leader of a political party in an election to a legislative body. In parliamentary systems, it is often the party's nominee for the position of head of government. In open list electoral systems, it is t ...

'' for DENK in the 2021 general election.

Controversies

In February 2017, it was reported that some members of the youth department of DENK had created fake social media profiles in order to influence public opinion.

Tunahan Kuzu Tunahan Kuzu (born 5 June 1981) is a Turkey, Turkish-born Netherlands, Dutch politician. He is a former member of the Labour Party (Netherlands), Labour Party (PvdA). He has been an House of Representatives (Netherlands), MP since 20 September 201 ...

acknowledged that there had been some internet trolls and that they would be held to account for their behaviour. Furthermore, Kuzu said that "Farid Azarkan may have given some sort of permission, but that is not entirely clear." Azarkan has been criticised for designing a banner in the style of the PVV with the image of the populist politician

Geert Wilders Geert Wilders (; born 6 September 1963) is a Dutch politician who has led the Party for Freedom (''Partij voor de Vrijheid'' – PVV) since he founded it in 2006. He is also the party's leader in the House of Representatives (''Tweede Kamer'' ...

and the logo of the PVV with the slogan "After March 15, we will purify the Netherlands". According to DENK, the idea behind the campaign would have been to "show how far the PVV can go." Nonetheless, the party management,

Selçuk Öztürk Selçuk Öztürk (born 8 April 1972) is a Dutch politician of Turkish descent. He is a former member of the Labour Party (PvdA). Since 8 November 2012, he has been an MP. On 13 November 2014, Öztürk and Tunahan Kuzu left the Labor Party and ...

and

, decided not to place the advertisement.

References

1971 births Living people 21st-century Dutch civil servants 21st-century Dutch politicians DENK politicians Dutch Muslims Muslim politicians Leaders of political parties in the Netherlands Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Moroccan emigrants to the Netherlands Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam alumni {{Netherlands-politician-stub