D66 MP Hanneke van der Werf believes that parties in The Hague should stand behind Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema, now that PVV leader Geert Wilders is publicly attacking her. “Of course, Mr. Wilders does this every time with the same mayor.”
“Out of the country with that scum. And Halsema can come along,” Wilders wrote on X on Monday with a photo of the out-of-control pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Amsterdam. He later repeated these words to the camera, shortly before entering the plenary hall of the House of Representatives. Another tweet of a similar nature followed in the afternoon.
Halsema was a guest on Eva Jinek’s talk show yesterday, where she responded to the PVV leader. “It is starting to look like Wilders only wants to allow demonstrations that he agrees with.”
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The mayor also said that he found it “not tasteful, not pleasant” that the pro-Palestinian demonstration took place on the day that Hamas’s attack on Israel was commemorated, but stated that she cannot simply deprive anyone of the right to demonstrate. “Everyone is allowed to express themselves, even people with whom you disagree.”
‘Mayor cannot change law’
Halsema warned against an “authoritarian sentiment” that she believes is evident from Wilders’ tweet. “The next step is for Wilders to say: it is Budget Day, I do not want any demonstrations against the government today.”
The mayor receives support from D66 MP Van der Werf. “I agree with what she says. It is of course very complicated for mayors to do it properly. This does not only apply to Femke Halsema. This also applies to Jan van Zanen of the VVD, the mayor of The Hague.”
“As mayor, you cannot just change the law and say: this is allowed, that is not allowed. You must always act within what is possible,” says Van der Werf in Goedemorgen Nederland on NPO 1. “I think it is very difficult to intervene if the law does not allow it.”
‘Don’t stay silent’
Van der Werf calls on politicians in The Hague to stand behind Halsema. “It is very complicated when politicians from The Hague say that you are no good. Of course, Mr Wilders does that every time with the same mayor. I think you can expect political parties to support her, and not to remain silent about yet another sneer from Wilders.”
Van der Werf also found the pro-Palestine demonstrations on October 7, exactly one year after Hamas’s bloody terror attack on Israel, to be anything but tasteful. “I can imagine that you might be thinking: why does this demonstration have to happen on this day, in this place?” But she emphasizes that it is not up to mayors to judge the content of demonstrations.
Also read:
Yeşilgöz: Wilders’ Halsema tweet does not suit the ruling party
By: Peter Visser
