Zwolle City Council backs asylum shelter plan over far-right objections
PVV leader Geert Wilders attended a demonstration against an asylum shelter in Zwolle on Monday evening. The Zwolle city council still approved the plans for the asylum center in the Stadshagen district, which should offer shelter for up to 400 people from 2027.
Nine out of the ten municipal factions in Zwolle voted in favor of opening the asylum shelter, NOS reported. According to the Asylum Distribution Act, Zwolle must accommodate almost 650 asylum seekers.
Zwolle mayor Peter Snijders said after the meeting that Wilders could take an example from his city, pointing out that the far-right national politician has no say in this issue. “We are capable of making our own decisions,” the mayor said to ANP. “In Zwolle, we stand by our decisions and we feel responsible for their implementation.”
Wilders is using protests against the arrival of asylum shelters as a platform for his party’s campaign for the upcoming parliamentary election. Many PVV voters vote for the far-right party because they are dissatisfied with asylum seekers and migrants, which is why Wilders is shining a spotlight on the issue. He toppled the Schoof I Cabinet with a surprise demand for extreme asylum measures, prompting the new elections in October. And he kicked off his campaigning by attending a similar anti-asylum shelter protest in Helmond last week.
Last week, the municipality of Coevorden decided to scrap plans for a shelter to house 14 child asylum seekers. After fierce protests and riots, the mayor said he could not guarantee the children’s safety.
