Christian parties not amused by Arnhem alderman's "God" tweet
Christian parties SGP and ChristenUnie are unimpressed by a comment posted on Twitter by SP alderman in Arnhem Gerrie Elfrink. The tweet was directed at the Kees van der Staaij avatar Elfrink is caring for on the Kamergotchi app. "Keesie I am God! If I forget to feed you, that's my wish! First be vaccinated, pervert", Elfrink tweeted.
Kees van der Staaij is leader of Christian party SGP. SGP spokesperson Menno de Bruyne responded to Elfrink's tweet by asking the SP to remove "rotten tomato Gerrie Elfrink" from the basket. "I don't want to sully more words with this. I know the SP as a party we can get along with excellently. It is up to the SP to set this right. I'll leave it at that", De Bruyne said to the Gelderlander.
Addie Plieger, ChristenUnie leader in Arnhem, called Elfrink's tweet "inappropriate for an alderman and for all Arnhem residents", according to the newspaper. "These tweets are offensive to Kees van der Staaij, to the SGP and to all Christians in the Netherlands, and disrespectful to fellow coalition parties to which the Christian faith is essential", Plieger said. The SP, ChristenUnie, D66 and CDA form a coalition in Arnhem.
Elfrink himself says that the tweet was meant to be humorous. "It's a joke, but also a serious message. I am absolutely opposed to the vaccination policy of the SGP", Elfrink said to the Gelderlander. He said his tweet was directed at the Kamergotchi, not the real Van der Staaij. "You should not take it so seriously, it's humor. Not everyone understands that. But I mean what I write about vaccination. That diseases like polio, whooping cough and measles are making a comeback is partly due to the SGP. They do not want children to be vaccinated against various infectious diseases. That kids in the Bible belt run the risk of getting diseases is what it is. But because of their vaccination policies, other kids also run the risk of falling ill."
