Former Green politician denies rumors that she will be Amsterdam's next mayor

Former GroenLinks politician Femke Halsema denied rumors that she is a contender for Amsterdam's next mayor on television program Buitenhof on Sunday. She finds the question of who will be Amsterdam's mayor now that terminally ill Eberhard van der Laan stepped down "very uncomfortable", AT5 reports.

"This is really not in order", Halsema said on Buitenhof. "There is no vacancy. We have a sick mayor. That is already sad enough." She called questions on this topic "really very unpleasant".

Since Van der Laan stepped down due to his metastasized lung cancer, there has been rumors in Amsterdam that his successor will come from GroenLinks or the D66, according to the Amsterdam broadcaster. Halsema, who stepped down as politician seven years ago, is a contender, according to the rumors.

A petition was launched against Halsema becoming Amsterdam mayor. That petition was signed over 5 thousand times, according to NU.nl.