There are two main obstacles preventing entrepreneurs from serving as elected officials. First, joining parliament would mean less time for their passion: building new and innovative companies from the ground up. It would also mean committing to an uncertain political future. 

Secondly, the culture of decision making in parliament is very different from what the typical entrepreneur is used to. In the business world, decisions made in the morning are often carried out that same day, something parliamentarians don't usually get to claim.

Ger Koopmans, an entrepreneur and former parliamentarian for the CDA (Christian Democrats), thinks it's important for entrepreneurs and freelancers to play a role in parliament, because the government should represent and pay attention to the interests of all its citizens.

It is unknown if this trend will be reversed in the upcoming election on 12 September. 

You can read the full article at the BNR website (in Dutch) here.

Photo from www.bussum.nl