At the start of the council meeting, the PvdA’s party leader Harold Koster asked the floor. He explained that his party is leaving the coalition, with VVD and D66. That has everything to do with the declaration of integrity violation that Mayor Michel Rog did a week earlier.
“This would be about violating secrecy,” said Koster. “We are shown to our party, before the facts and possible set -up have been demonstrated. The coalition partners point to us, which is why collaboration is no longer possible for us. College and trust is also missed in the College of Mayor and Aldermen.”
Back room
“The PvdA does not want to participate in this kind of back room policy,” says Koster. “We keep the honor to ourselves. The use of alderman Gamri for living and the social domain was innovative. She was honest and kept to the agreements. We ask her to put her position down with pain in our hearts.”
Attiya Gamri is already the third alderman to leave this council term. In April 2024, D66 alderman Henk Wijkhuisen got up, followed a month later by Alderman Nico Heijink of the VVD. Gamri kept it dry with difficulty when she resigned. “In recent years were really valuable, I enjoyed those three years. To the officials involved in my fields: dear people, we worked hard with each other. Thank you for your support, I’m going to miss you.”
Elections in 2026
How it should be done in Bloemendaal politics is still unclear. The remaining coalition parties VVD and D66 are talking about this this week. What is the role of the PvdA is clear for the time being. Harold Koster: “We don’t like giving up, but in the coming six months we will fight for Bloemendaal from the opposition. We will leave this arena with a lifted head.”
The municipal elections will be on March 18, 2026, in more than half a year. If it is up to the stepped alderman Gamri, she will then return to the college: “As an alderman, I am not nearly ready in Bloemendaal. We will see each other again.”