Municipal politics in Christian Nunspeet reminds resident Arie Pater (71) most of the story of Jesus and the tax collectors. The tax collectors of the Bible were despised and ignored by the people because of their collaboration with the Roman occupier. Jesus did speak to them, was empathetic, and even had a tax collector as one of his twelve disciples.
The Son of God was willing to listen to anyone, Father would say. And he thinks it’s ‘fantastic’ that the same thing is about to happen in his Gelderland village on the Veluwe. Because something special is about to happen at the official installation of the new municipal council of Nunspeet on Thursday: all parties from the municipal council will manage together, each with an alderman in the college of mayor and aldermen.
The interesting thing about Nunspeet is that, unlike in those days with Jesus and the tax collectors, the helping hand comes from the ‘unbelievers’. In the last elections, after years, IC managed to break the power of the strict SGP.
Controlling opposition
‘We could have sidelined SGP’, says Marc Konings, party chairman of the Municipal Interest. ‘But as a local party we have always said: we are there for everyone. SGP has received almost a quarter of the votes. Then it doesn’t fit with our thinking that we can do without this party.’
They found a bit too much of a good thing about governing with the SGP alone. And so the old coalition with ChristenUnie was considered. He had a total of nineteen seats in the municipal council, against two for the opposition (CDA Lokaal and GroenLinks/PvdA). ‘Let’s all try it together,’ thought Konings.
A council with all parties from the city council is not unique, but according to Professor of Public Administration Michiel de Vries (Radboud University) it does not happen often. Zundert, Bergen op Zoom, Laarbeek, Utrechtse Heuvelrug and Maashorst are examples from the recent past.
De Vries sees the advantages because the chance of personal conflicts that regularly paralyze municipal authorities is reduced. But he is also critical of a municipal council without controlling opposition. ‘Where should a dissatisfied citizen then go in Nunspeet?’
IC is not the party for born Nunspeter Anja Bostelaar (46), but that is precisely why she appreciates it so much that this party wants to rule with all other parties. ‘A nice signal to society’, says Bostelaar. ‘Especially at a time with so many opinions and a lack of respect for dissenters.’ According to her, the polarization and coarse language in the House of Representatives was the moral low point.
In administrative Nunspeet they want to treat each other very differently. Not that everything goes smoothly. Mayor Breunis van de Weerd, for example, came under fire when it turned out that he had not been vaccinated against corona because of his religious beliefs. While the SGP mayor had called on residents in a letter to do so, because he also believes in the effectiveness of the vaccine.
Van de Weerd said goodbye to his office last week, because he considers himself unsuitable for a second term because of the matter. ‘Because of the image that has arisen around me, I can no longer stand above all parties as a bridge builder,’ he says. Nunspeet would not be his compassionate self without a warm farewell to Van de Weerd. After praising the town hall, a goodbye moment followed for all residents in cultural center Veluvine.
No political games
It looks beautiful, all that unity and togetherness in a village. But even if there is hardly any administrative disagreement, does it still make sense for citizens to go to the polls next time? A fair question, says professor De Vries. The turnout in municipal elections this year was already historically low at 50 percent, but in Bergen op Zoom – where there was previously a council-wide coalition – it even got stuck at 45 percent.
“It could be the result of a lack of debate in the city council and premeditated decision-making in backrooms,” he says. He also saw indecisiveness in previous comparable college constructions. “They couldn’t agree on what was priority and at the end of the day a lot was left behind.”
Konings van Gemeentebelang is not afraid of that. According to him, it is not all that complicated, listening to each other and working together constructively. ‘We are only talking about Nunspeet, let’s be honest,’ he says about the municipality with just under 30,000 inhabitants. ‘For example, we all agree on building, preserving greenery and sustainability.’
And so a council-wide agreement was soon reached. Only the opening of shops on Sundays could have become a breaking point. ‘Then we didn’t put it in the coalition agreement,’ says Konings. ‘If it still becomes a theme, the city council can decide on it.’
Van de Weerd does not see it as his merit, but it fills the outgoing mayor with some pride that he leaves behind a united administration. ‘All parties in the college: if it can be done somewhere, then in Nunspeet’, says Van de Weerd. ‘The city council and the college have always worked well together here. No political games or querulants here.’
He is not concerned about the lack of opposition. SGP member Van de Weerd does not need a Bible passage about the son of God to put this into words. He sticks to Cruijffian words: ‘All parties in the college are not a solution for all problems, but if there are no major problems, it is a nice solution’.