The Party for the Animals (PvdD) in The Hague says it was “taken by surprise” by reports that it has been sidelined within the city’s minority coalition. PvdD councillor Diego Demaree made the comment on Tuesday in response to an article by Omroep West. The article reported that the party had been pushed out of the coalition.
According to Omroep West, coalition partners D66, Pro Den Haag, CDA, and Denk have decided to settle their differences without the PvdD over a plan to relocate waste companies to another part of the city, the Vlietzone. The PvdD opposes the plan, citing concerns about nature conservation.
The PvdD says the other parties informed it by text message that they had withdrawn their confidence.
Raids
Demaree said the decision blindsided him. He noted that the council debate on the Vlietzone has yet to take place. He described the move as “absurd”.
Omroep West quoted a statement from the other coalition parties. In it, they said that “the basis for cooperation has been seriously damaged” in relation to the PvdD. They referred to “previous agreements made within the coalition”.
Housing construction
The city plans to relocate the waste companies to free up space. It would then use the land for housing construction in the De Binckhorst district of The Hague.
The withdrawal of confidence affects the current minority coalition. At the same time, negotiations are underway for a new coalition following last month’s municipal elections. In those elections, Hart voor Den Haag, led by Richard de Mos, became the largest party with 16 seats, followed by D66 with 8 seats. Last week, De Mos temporarily suspended talks with D66, saying that substantive differences on several issues were too great.
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