Florens van der Spek

Florens van der Spek (born 1992)[1] is a Dutch politician. He is leader of the political party Jesus Lives (Dutch: Jezus Leeft).[2] His father in law, Joop van Ooijen, is the founder of the party.[3]

Van der Spek lives on his father-in-law’s farm.[4][5] During his youth, he was a cocaine addict as well as an alcoholic.[6][7] Now his party campaigns to outlaw all drugs.[8] When he went to church, he would leave early to visit the pub were he took drugs and drank alcohol, also being frequently involved in fights.[9] When asked about what he would do if he became minister-president he described himself as unfit as his strict interpretation of the Bible wouldn't allow him to make the necessary concessions.[3] He went as far as to say that his party would not cooperate with parties that "oppose the principles of Jesus" at all.[7] He is of the opinion that every problem can be solved by "doing them with Jesus", traffic jams being the exception.[10] He also was a candidate for the European Election.[8]

Van der Spek works at a gardening company called Scheppingsonderhoud.[11]

When his party won zero seats in the election, Van der Spek remarked that meant he didn't have to make a compromise with other politicians and that was the only true victory,[3] as his goal is not to win elections but to share Jesus' message.[10]

Florens van der Spek lives in Giessenburg.[1]