Groningen politician resigns after calling populist politician a Nazi

Maarten Kluit resigned as SP leader in Midden-Groningen and his seat in the city council due to a tweet in which he called Thierry Baudet, leader of populist party FvD, a Nazi. Kluit's resignation was with immediate effect. He was succeeded by Han van der Vlist, RTV Noord reports.

The tweet was in response to a post in which Baudet accused other parties of wanting "the nation state to break down". Tweeting under the name  'Linksgekkie des Vaderlands', Kluit responded on Saturday evening: "Shut up Nazi! YOU are the greatest threat to the nation state."

Kluit removed the tweet after the national SP distanced itself from it and apologized for his word choice, but said he stands behind the statement. "I certainly see similarities between Baudet and fascism and Nazism," he said to RTV Noord. Later on Sunday, after consultations with his faction and the city council, he resigned.

Kluit has been a member of the Midden-Groningen city council or the SP since 2014. He became chairman of the faction a few weeks ago, according to NOS. The party has 5 of the 33 seats on the city council.