Housing still the main issue in Amsterdam's final debate before city council elections

Housing is still the biggest issue in Amsterdam, and so also received most of the attention in the capital’s final debate before the city council elections. The largest parties took each other to task during the debate organized by Het Parool and De Balie, with a striking number of clashes between D66 on one hand and GroenLinks and the PvdA on the other. The three parties have worked together in the city coalition for years.

Sixteen local parties crossed swords during the debate in De Balie on Monday evening: first eight small parties, and later eight parties that already hold a large proportion of the city council.

The debate immediately flared up on the topic of housing. According to GroenLinks lead candidate Zita Pels, the D66 only wants to build homes for tech bros and bankers. “And passes the bill on to low-income earners,” she said.

Melanie van der Horst (D66) took offense. According to her, 70 percent of the homes the D66 wants to build fall into the affordable category, including mid-priced homes. “We gain nothing from nice words,” she said, accusing GroenLinks of failing to commit to building homes in the coming years.

Daan Wijnants of the VVD accused GroenLinks of squandering all the money from land revenues on “nice things for people.” According to him, that is why Amsterdam can’t build more social housing.

One thing that all eight large pirates agreed on is that the gap between the rich and the poor in Amsterdam is too wide. According to SP and DENK, Amsterdam is the poverty capital of the Netherlands. Pels of GroenLinks said that the city government tried to defy the “harsh right-wing wind” in the country with its basic security agenda. SP said the city government did not do nearly enough and advocated for free public transport and affordable housing.

The debate also reflected on the attack on a Jewish school in Buitenveldert on Friday. PvdA leader Sofyan Mbarki, speaking in his capacity as alderman, expressed his horror. “This looks like an attack on a Jewish school, but it is an attack on all of us.”

Earlier in the evening, the eight smaller parties debated topics like the affordability of public transport, social housing, and the right to demonstrate.

Rogier Havelaar (CDA) argued against the idea of free public transport for teenagers. According to him, that would stand in the way of cycling, which is a good weapon against obesity.

Juliet Broersen (Volt) advocated for temporarily abandoning the 40 percent social housing standard for housing construction, arguing that it is keeping major construction projects from getting off the ground.