Amsterdam to back Mayor Van der Laan for second term

The city council of Amsterdam is set to give its formal recommendation in favor of keeping the city’s mayor, Eberhard van der Laan, in office for a new six-year term. The decision will be announced at the beginning of a council meeting on Wednesday, according to Het Parool. Van der Laan is said to be “extremely pleased” with the decision. He said it was very encouraging, and “extra incentive” to do his best, and make the most out of the situation. Formally, the council will make a recommendation about the job position to the King’s Commissioner for Noord-Holland, Johan Remkes. Remkes is to then weigh in on the situation in a letter to the Minister of the Interior, Ronald Plasterk. The minister then makes the official appointment. The mayor told city council in October that he would be available and “willing to give 100 percent” in continuing as mayor, but that he also wanted more respect for his personal time so he can enjoy life with his family. “Looking back over the past five years, I have really enjoyed working hard on behalf of the city with your counsel, the aldermen, civil servants and Amsterdammers. Amsterdam is never finished and there are persistent problems, but the city is in a relatively good state,” the mayor said in October. A full term as mayor would see Van der Laan keep the office into 2022. The previous mayor, Job Cohen, left midway through his second term to replace Wouter Bos as head of the Labour party (PvdA), ahead of a national election in 2010. Cohen led the PvdA to a second-place finish that secured his role as an opposition leader in the lower house of parliament. Cohen resigned from the leadership position, and gave up his seat as a member of parliament, about two years later after his party steadily lost public support.