The PVV has had a lot of trouble finding the right people in Limburg for the upcoming municipal elections. Candidates have also been rejected, says party leader and list leader in Maastricht, Rene Betsch
The party of Geert Wilders will participate in the municipal elections in five Limburg municipalities next week. In addition to Maastricht, these are Venlo, Landgraaf, Heerlen and Sittard-Geleen.
Stigma
Only five candidates are up for election in Maastricht. The PVV currently has two seats in the city council. Betsch acknowledges that it is difficult to find the right candidates, also due to the national stigma that the party suffers from. “These are prejudices, which mainly play a role nationally. We benefit from it, but others also suffer from it. For example, some points of view are widely measured, take the Islam point of view, we support that, but it is more than that. Especially in a city like Maastricht,” says Betsch.
Screening
In recent years, several candidates have come forward, each of whom was rejected after a thorough screening. “Sometimes they already dropped out before that screening, that says enough. You see that some people still have extreme views and we don’t want that.”
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Newcomer
One of the newcomers on the Maastricht PVV list is John Miesen. He has been with the party for a year after previously supporting the SP. “That may seem like a very strange step, but on points of the social domain the parties are quite close together. Hence my choice for the PVV,” said Miesen. He was also subjected to a screening and had to submit a VOG (certificate of conduct). “But I think that’s pretty normal representing you as the people.”
Councilors do not need a VOG in the Netherlands, but they do for aldermen.