Friday, 4 October 2013 - 07:31
Van Aartsen One More Time Mayor The Hague
It is almost sure that Jozias van Aartsen is going to be one more term the mayor of The Hague. During a voting of the city council he was anonymously chosen as the successor of himself. He was also the only candidate.
Van Aartsen is the mayor of The Hague since 2008. He is well appreciated by friend and ‘ennemy’. Positive remarks about the result of the voting came from all sides. Members of D66 and GroenLinks in the council, as well as PvdA members and members from local parties were all very happy that van Aartsen got the ‘blessing’ of the city council. Most The Hague politicians and citizens think that their city is good off with van Aartsen.
Procedure
The the city council votes positive for a candidate the actual decision becomes more or less a formality. The recommendation of the city council will go the the governor of Zuid Holland. The governor will recommend the choice to the minister of Internal Affairs after which the latter will recommend the candidate to king Willem-Alexander, who makes the final decision.
Career
Van Aartsen is a politician with a long experience. After being an assistant for the VVD group in the House, he was the director of the scientific bureau of the VVD. Then he worked himself up to the highest position within the ministry of Internal Affairs. Next step was the change to the political arena in The Hague. In the first two governments lead by Wim Kok, he was minister of Agriculture and minister of Foreign Affairs. After being a member of the government, he lead the VVD in the House and became the political leader of the VVD.