Take a look at the aldermen being appointed these days and see: Suitsupply is doing good business. The commercials may give the impression that men in suits are always accompanied by a half-naked model in stilettos draped over the countertops of a stainless steel designer kitchen; from now on I would rather think of the five aldermen of the municipality of Woensdrecht, posing good-naturedly in front of a tree. And to the men of Dantumadiel, walking through the Frisian landscape with the hands-on step of Hugo de Jonge. Or to the four of Katwijk, straight on a chesterfield.
In 2018 I made a series on Twitter #diversity in new councils of mayor and aldermen. Now that the first lectures of 2022-2026 are announced, a new series.
— Nicolien Badura (@nicolienbadura) Apr 28, 2022
They wear gray and especially a lot of blue: light blue, dark blue, blue-with-checks. Sometimes the shirt is white or even pink, but more often it is blue: light blue, dark blue, blue stripes. Sometimes the ties are green, red or orange, but most are blue.
The Netherlands is governed by fifty shades of blue. Nicolien Badura, coordinator of administrative integrity at the Municipality of Rotterdam, has been collecting photos of the new B and W lectures on Twitter since the end of April. Her thread is as humiliating as it is witty, because of the uniformity and repetition. Hulst, Meierijstad, Oss, Vlissingen, Zoeterwoude: there are countless municipalities in the Netherlands where apparently nobody raises an eyebrow if the aldermen’s team consists solely of men.
Eleven men met in Kerkrade about a new coalition, six of whom are now aldermen. ‘Nice work guys!’, Badura writes with the photo. In Vijfheerenlanden, the team actually consists of five gentlemen. “Of the 154 municipalities in which aldermen have been introduced to the council or have already been appointed, 46 have only male aldermen,” it reported. General Newspaper Friday.
Most teams have just one woman, surrounded by three, four or five men, Badura tweeted. That is already very diverse. Other diversity, for example in the field of color, is even scarcer. Those who like to complain loudly about the woke or feminization of the Netherlands can breathe a sigh of relief after looking at the thread.
Of course it is commendable that the men in blue have said yes to an aldermanship. Because it is not easy. Aldermen are also targets of threats, intimidation and aggression. Many municipalities are in serious financial difficulties due to the rising costs of youth care. Since 2015, they have been responsible for social assistance, sheltered employment and care for the long-term sick and the elderly – in short, they take care of the most vulnerable. Difficult choices have to be made: the swimming pool gone, or the community center? Stand on it.
But precisely because of this tangle of heavy responsibilities, political parties should realize how important it is that not everyone has the same experiences and perspectives. “Research shows that it is better not to leave decision-making to white men alone, but that more discussion arises when teams are mixed,” said political scientist Liza Mügge in the statement. AD† “And that produces better results.”
Why are women still missing from college? asked journalists to the formateur and aldermen of the municipality of Zuidplas. Tellingly, the four men seemed taken aback by the question. ‘If women had been nominated, no party would have said a priori ‘no’ to them,’ the formateur reassured. But then again, they weren’t there, another suggested – an argument that even Prime Minister Rutte can’t get away with anymore.
Awkward smile: Well, they were done with it again. Yet you got the idea that there was very little creativity and brainpower to change anything – and that could well be the essence.