ANPAboutaleb takes a photo with someone in Rotterdam (2016)
NOS Nieuws•gisteren, 23:19
After fifteen years as mayor of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb announced today that he is quitting. His decision comes as a surprise to residents. The 62-year-old politician is still popular in the port city, although he has increasingly come under fire in the municipal council.
“I dare say that the home front is the instigator of this decision,” says the mayor against the regional broadcaster Rijnmond. His children have insisted that it is “a grueling job”.
Aboutaleb also believes that it is simply time for a new mayor:
‘It seems like a good time to transfer the chain of office’
“I can imagine that Aboutaleb thinks it is time for something different,” says Jan-Roelof Visscher van Rijnmond. He reported on Rotterdam politics for many years. “He has been there for a long time and after the corona crisis you noticed that there was more criticism from the council.”
Incident
The criticism was, for example, about the ‘megalomaniac’ construction project Feyenoord City and the mayor’s foreign activities. “It is also said that he should have handled explosions at houses differently. And then there is the flag incident to which there was a very strong response.”
The mayor recently decided not to hoist the Israeli but the Rotterdam flag at half-mast after the terrorist attacks by Hamas in Israel. Aboutaleb gave the reason that he did not want to increase “polarization in our city”. The largest party in the council, Leefbaar Rotterdam, said it was a shame.
Nevertheless, according to followers, Aboutaleb will remain popular in the city. He is praised as a connector and someone who tells it like it is. “In difficult times of terror, he was the one who called religious leaders together at city hall,” says Henrik-Willem Hofs, former NOS city reporter in Rotterdam.
‘Bugger off!’
Aboutaleb strongly condemned the attacks on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in 2015. “If you don’t like humorists making a newspaper, then yes, I can put it this way: fuck off!” He said the words not only as mayor but also as an “enraged Muslim”.
In 2009, the PvdA member became the first mayor of Moroccan descent in the Netherlands, and the first of a major city in Europe. However, his appointment did not come without a fight. Objections were raised both in the House of Representatives by the PVV and in the municipal council by Lbaar Rotterdam because of Aboutaleb’s dual nationality. And it didn’t help in Rotterdam that the new director had been an alderman in Amsterdam.
Eight months after he took office in 2009, there were the beach riots at Hoek van Holland. A 19-year-old man was killed by a police bullet. “Aboutaleb then rushed through the municipal council debate,” says Hofs. There was heavy criticism of the actions of the police and local authorities.
In the years that followed, Aboutaleb developed strongly, according to Hofs. “He has become a figurehead of the city.” When Aboutaleb shows up, people want to take a selfie with him. “He is very approachable,” says Visscher.
GL-PvdA faction leader Timmermans says in a response that Rotterdam can be proud of him:
The mayor also went to problem neighborhoods. He started talking to residents and gave his email address to people who wanted to contact him, Visscher says. On the other hand, he sometimes also went into the neighborhoods incognito with a hat on, to see what was going on.
His direct approach did not endear Aboutaleb to everyone. In 2017 he clashed with the Turkish community. A Turkish minister wanted to campaign at the consulate in the city. “Aboutaleb then said: that is not going to happen,” said Visscher. The mayor introduced an emergency ordinance and deployed the riot police.
Tackling drug trafficking
The PvdA member presented himself as a strict enforcer. He first warned nationally and then internationally about the growing influence of criminal organizations. Rotterdam is an important transit point for the international cocaine trade.
Aboutaleb advocated checking all containers with tropical fruit that enter through the port of Rotterdam. Loads of drugs are regularly found in these containers. The mayor also went to Colombia to see how drug smuggling is being tackled there. His lobbying earned Rotterdam millions from The Hague to combat the problem. Visscher: “I’m not saying he has solved it, but that is not something Rotterdam can do alone.”
The mayor regularly travels abroad. A recent visit to Morocco led to fierce criticism from Leefbaar Rotterdam. “He is digging wells in Morocco, while he should have been building bridges here,” says a council member. The AD published an article last weekend in which several local parties said that it is time for new leadership: “He is past his expiration date.”
2024-01-09 22:19:11
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