The seats in the municipal council have only just been filled when the first pinprick has already been handed out in Hoogeveen politics. A stable coalition including Forum for Democracy? GroenLinks-PvdA doesn’t like it.
On Wednesday evening, all new council members were ready to be officially sworn in. Afterwards, all parties had the opportunity to briefly talk about their election win or loss.
GL-PvdA faction leader Stan van Eck used that moment to look ahead to a new municipal council. “A faction that splits into three parts shortly after voting? That is no basis for administrative responsibility.”
He is referring to the unrest within FVD after the elections. The party grew from two to five seats, but then fell apart: two members split off because, according to them, they had been pressured by the party management to give up their seats.
“After a turbulent period in the past, there is now a solid foundation. Hoogeveen needs a board that can rely on it,” says Van Eck. In doing so, he hints at the current coalition with his own party, the VVD, Christian Union, and Municipal Interests.
Just before Van Eck’s speech, FVD faction leader Vincent Vos also spoke. He indicated that he was happy with the result achieved, but did not mention the loss of the other two seats.
Hilma Hooijer from Gemeentebelangen gave a short talk afterwards about forming a new coalition. Mayor Jan Zwiers of the municipality of Midden-Drenthe has been asked to hold discussions with all parties.
There will be some more discussions next week, says Hooijer, after which Zwiers will provide advice. “We will then all look at what we should do with that advice.” That could take a number of months, she says.
The ball for the formation lies with Gemeentebelangen, they became the largest with 8 seats.
