The resignation of Annelies Kleve (D66) as alderman of the municipality of Veendam is raising eyebrows within Veendam politics. Council and council members did not see this coming. “We are completely surprised.”
Kleve submitted her resignation on Monday. This is a reason for the D66 faction to also leave the coalition with GemeenteBelangen, the PvdA and the VVD. “The basis must be in order,” says D66 faction leader Hanneke Schoenmaker-Tiems.
“We received a signal from the councilor that this was not the case and that she wanted to resign. Within her portfolio, she could not work unhindered on the parts of the coalition agreement that we consider important,” says the group leader. “As a party we support Kleve and unfortunately we see no other option than to leave the coalition.”
The existing coalition of GemeenteBelangen (7 seats), PvdA (5 seats) and VVD (1 seat) continues to hold a majority in the municipal council with 13 of the 21 council seats. “With one council seat, we were not needed for a majority,” says Schoenmaker-Tiems.
Surprised
She cannot give specific examples of where things went wrong. Kleve himself puts it in a press release that appeared on Monday. She states that she is resigning “because the confidence to be able to take responsibility for policy within the council is no longer present.”
The council of the municipality of Veendam was surprised by her dismissal on Monday morning. “The council will consider the situation that has arisen.” No further explanation is given.
Former coalition members did not see D66’s resignation coming. “I can be very brief,” says VVD faction leader Ina Meerloo. “This is a complete surprise. I was surprised by the press release. I have no idea what Kleve is referring to. She did her job well, she was an excellent councilor. I definitely didn’t see this coming.”
This is also what party leader Rob Haije of the PvdA says. “I don’t know where the problem is. In my experience there are no controversial topics. I think it’s a surprising move.”
Haije: “I can’t think of a file on which Alderman Kleve cannot profile himself. As coalition parties, we have regular contact. There are no conflicts. There were no signals that things were going difficult. The cooperation within the coalition was and continues to be harmonious. There is no imbalance. So yes, this is really an unexpected and sudden action by the alderman and D66.”
Successor Jaap Velema
Annelies Kleve succeeded Jaap Velema, who became mayor of Westerwolde, as councilor in Veendam in December 2018. Before that, since 2009, she was director of the Volkskredietbank Noord-Oost Groningen. As a councilor, her portfolio included education, debt assistance, employment policy and culture.