There they are. Three men and a woman. And these negotiators do not present their Rotterdam coalition agreement in the stately town hall on the Coolsingel, but in an old school building: the ‘culture workshop’ in the Tarwewijk. In that district, 21 percent of residents voted in March (38.9 percent across the city).
After almost three months of negotiations, the time has finally come: there is a Rotterdam coalition between ‘arch enemies’ Leefbaar Rotterdam (10 seats) and Denk (4 seats). Who would have thought? And, okay, D66 (5 seats) and VVD (6 seats) are also participating.
A few years ago, the combination Think-Liveable in polarized Rotterdam would have been unthinkable. Four years ago, Denk, then led by current Member of Parliament Stephan van Baarle, called Leefbaar the party of “distributors and deconstructors”. Leefbaar, led by Joost Eerdmans, now a member of parliament for JA21, did not like Denk with his views on space for Islamic education and halal shops and city guards who should be able to wear a headscarf. But that was then.
The agreement is nice for journalists and politicians. But the ordinary Rotterdammer is only interested in what is happening in the street or in the neighborhood
Vincent Karremans party leader VVD
Now everything is different. Leefbaar was determined, under the leadership of Robert Simons, not to be sidelined this time. That happened four years ago when the party also became the largest in the city council with eleven seats, but fell outside a coalition of GroenLinks, VVD, PvdA, D66, CDA and CU/SGP. Denk also really wanted to take the controls himself, led by Faouzi Achbar. A coalition on the left was briefly attempted after the March elections. But that quickly fizzled out.
Two people’s parties
Leefbaar and Denk decided to look at their similarities: both are popular parties that stand up for ‘ordinary Rotterdammers’ – with or without a migration background – who feel oppressed, forgotten or even scorned. And both parties give their opinions frankly, often in harsh terms. Rotterdammer Nourdin El Ouali, former leader of the Islamic-inspired party Nida, referred to Leefbaar en Denk in an opinion article as parties that recognize the dissatisfaction and know how to mobilize it.
In order to reach an agreement, the parties had to get over their major ideological differences. For example, in the election program Leefbaar called Dutch culture a ‘spearhead’ and Islamic education had to be ‘discouraged’, while Denk wanted education to ‘support’. According to Leefbaar, the Pride had to start in the Afrikaanderwijk, where many Turkish Dutch live, because, according to the party, homophobia is especially prevalent among people with a migration background. Denk pays a great deal of attention to combating racism and discrimination against people with a migration background, and wants, for example, that municipal advisory bodies and committees should consist of “at least 50 percent of people of diverse origins”.
We found each other on pragmatism, says Robert Simons, under whose leadership Leefbaar’s anti-Islam agenda had already been weakened before. The discussion about political Islam, terrorists and Salafists is hardly an issue anymore, he says. “Do you think people in the neighborhoods are doing that? They are concerned about whether they can pay the rent, and about rising prices and waste on the street.” Thought leader Faouzi Achbar also considers equality of opportunity and poverty reduction more important.
During the presentation of the agreement, all four parties emphasize that they mainly want to get to work. “The agreement is nice for journalists and politicians,” says VVD party leader Vincent Karremans. “But the ordinary Rotterdammer is only interested in what is happening in the street or in the neighbourhood.” And so they do not present their ‘One city’ agreement in the chic city hall. The VVD is close to Liveable. That is why D66, which profiled itself as a social-liberal, progressive, sustainable party, is the outlier. Party leader Chantal Zeegers seems to emphasize that with her bright red suit, next to the darkly dressed men. She also emphasizes something else: in the new council with eight aldermen, she is the only woman besides eight men. That is no longer of this time, is it? “The selection committee has made this choice,” says Simons.