GroenLinks disappears from the coalition in Maastricht. Seniors Party Maastricht (SPM), D66, CDA, PvdA, VVD and Volt are going to talk about forming a new coalition. Together, these six parties account for 22 of the 39 seats in the municipal council.
This follows the advice of the informants Mariëlle Heijltjes and Wil Rutten.
Insufficient support
Party leader and councilor Frans Bastiaens of SPM – the largest party with five seats – says that the formation will start with this engine. GroenLinks but also the Party Safe Maastricht (PVM) are not part of this. “At the moment there is not enough support for both parties,” said Bastiaens.
The six intended coalition parties and the Green Left and PVM sat together on Wednesday. “Ultimately, a choice is made that is positive for one party while another is disappointed. These are difficult processes, but we have to take steps in the interest of the formation phase and in particular in the interest of the city,” explains Bastiaens.
Also read: Political puzzle piece in Maastricht with record number of parties
‘Totally shocked’
GroenLinks leader and (still) alderman Gert-Jan Krabbendam says in a reaction that he is ‘totally shocked’ and that he has not expected for a moment that his party will be kept outside the new coalition. “Everything has been discussed where we have been kept out. I hoped to have built up a little more credit with my former coalition partners,” Krabbendam responds. He also thinks that the fact that GroenLinks was in talks with the SP about far-reaching cooperation was probably not experienced as pleasant by other parties.
Party leader and party leader Tiny Meese of PVM is also disappointed. “We first looked at the figures and not at the content. We regret that the voter was not listened to,” said Meese.
Door not closed
SPM foreman Bastiaens states that the aim of the formation is to achieve a broadly supported city agreement. In his view, the door to GroenLinks and PVM has not yet been closed definitively, although both parties themselves think differently. “We will continue to talk with all parties and we are not excluding anything at the moment, including no later accession of a party,” says Bastiaans.
Also read: Fragmentation, Volt and Forum in Maastricht council
Volt
The fact that Volt will participate in a coalition as a newcomer means that alderman Anita Bastiaans can stay on as alderman. She became a non-party alderman in Maastricht in September 2020. She joined Volt two days ago.
The city council will discuss the chosen course on Tuesday.