© the telegraph
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To prevent too many “white men” from appearing on the PvdA candidate list for the municipal elections in The Hague, Dutch candidate councilor Wouter Booij is withdrawing. He made this known on Tuesday evening during a turbulent General Members’ Meeting. “I don’t think it’s good for politics if men are given more space on lists than women. If (white) men do not give up their space – partly due to privilege – fair representation in politics will never work,” Booij writes in a statement.
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Source: the Telegraph
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Booij was in seventh place on the draft candidate list. When he saw a lot of shifts in the top ten during the GMM, he decided to no longer apply. “Women and people of color are still underrepresented in the political arena. By withdrawing, the list is more proportionate.”
He made the decision with a heavy heart. “I would have liked to have committed myself to the city, but on a representative list,” he says. He wants to “open the debate” on this subject. “Women and people of color are systematically less on lists of political parties. A representative representation of society in politics is not an afterthought,” he says. “It ensures that all signals in society find their way to politics. For example, you prevent insane excesses such as an allowance affair. This is partly due to systems that people do not know how to navigate.”
In the end, the male-female distribution in the top 10 became ‘fifty fifty’. Martijn Balster tops the list, followed by Mikal Tseggai. “I am happy that in the end there are as many women as men in the top ten. It may sound moralistic: but I think that white men should make more room for reflection,” says Booij.
To care
However, there are still concerns. “In total, only 33 people applied for a place on the PvdA candidate list, eleven of which were women.” That really has to change: new networks have to be tapped, says Booij. “The white man knows better how to find the route to politics. We need to build new roads for these groups towards politics, without traffic lights and with clear direction signs.”
Earlier there was also a fuss about real estate entrepreneur Mairan Sewtahal, who was in seventh place, but was removed from the list by the board. They feared that his work in the private rental market would not go hand in hand with ‘hard intervention’ in the housing market. The members judged otherwise and he still ended up in 19th place. The entrepreneur is prepared to resign from his work as a broker if he ends up on the council.
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