Former GroenLinks leader and former member of parliament, Femke Halsema will be the new mayor of Amsterdam! Completing the turn to the left of the political spectrum when it comes to Amsterdam politics.
A confidential advisory committee has chosen Femke Halsema, the city council also backs this choice and advises the commissioner of the king, Remkes, to nominate her on behalf of the government. She will then be appointed. Yes, we at DutchReview are aware that this is a rather non-transparent and undemocratic way of getting a new mayor, not everything is perfect in the Netherlands.
Who’s Femke Halsema and how did she end up becoming the mayor of Amsterdam?
Halsema is the successor of Jozias van Aartsen, who temporarily became mayor in the capital after the death of the beloved Eberhard van der Laan, last October. Halsema becomes the first female mayor of Amsterdam. She will also be the first mayor of Amsterdam to be a member of GroenLinks.
From 1946 until last year, the mayor of Amsterdam was always a PvdA member. GroenLinks became the largest party in the Amsterdam city council at the municipal elections in March. The 52-year-old Halsema was party leader and chairman of GroenLinks in the ‘Tweede Kamer’ from 2002 to 2010.
The considerable leftist Amsterdam will be thrilled to have her as a mayor, but she’s also considered to be kind of a member of the left-establishment. Those on the right are then, of course, dreading the prospect of Femke Halsema being the new mayor of Amsterdam.
It will be interesting to see how Halsema will run the Dutch capital and be as beloved as Van der Laan; time will tell I guess!
What do you think of the appointment of Femke Halsema as the new mayor of Amsterdam? Excited or meh? Let us know in the comments!
[…] June, Femke Halsema was appointed by the city council to be Amsterdam’s mayor. She will be the first GroenLinks AND female mayor of Amsterdam, so it’s a pretty historic […]