Local politicians who receive threats should automatically receive a call from Interior Minister Pieter Heerma. Heerma, of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), said on Sunday that he has been doing this since the threats against his predecessor became widely known. “And I find myself doing it more and more often. Over the past year and a half, I have called four or five people,” he said.
Earlier, NOS and regional broadcasters reported that the number of municipal councillors facing aggression, intimidation or violence has doubled in the past four years. In a survey, 32 per cent of respondents said they had experienced such behaviour. Before the municipal elections in 2022, that figure was still 15 per cent. The Dutch Association for Councillors also reported increased aggression and intimidation linked to the reception of Ukrainian refugees and the asylum issue.
Heerma believes local administrators and councillors often have to defend decisions made in The Hague. As an example, he mentioned the distribution law. This law requires the national government to share the responsibility for receiving asylum seekers more evenly across the country by instructing municipalities to provide a certain number of reception places. Such measures can lead to resistance, sometimes expressed through threats and intimidation. The minister said national politicians should speak out much more clearly in these situations in support of councillors, alderpersons and mayors who carry out their duties.
“These people are actually more exposed than we are,” added Henri Bontenbal. “Local politicians are part of the community they govern. They shop in the same centres and are easy to find.”
@anp | NEWS BRAINPORT
