Ex-nitrous oxide king Deniz wants to join the city council: “Amsterdam has to laugh again”
Where he considered himself the laughing gas king of the city a few years ago, Deniz Üresin has completely changed course. After turning against laughing gas, he now wants to go into politics. As leader of the new party ‘De Feestpartij’, he will participate in the municipal elections on 16 March.
“I always said I would be mayor,” says Üresin. But its history is not as political as it makes it seem. A few years ago he owned the company Ufogas that sold laughing gas on the street. In 2019, the direct sale of laughing gas on the street was banned in Amsterdam, but resin continued. At least, he himself said to only sell on delivery and not to ‘pedd about’, selling on the street without a fixed sales point.
The municipality imposes various fines. later he got a penalty payment of one million euros. In 2019, Üresin stopped using nitrous oxide and used his position to educate young people: “I saw what it did to the health of myself and the friends around me,” he says. “Laughing gas is not good for you, but I maintain that my fines are unjustified.”
The points of his Party Party are clear: free public transport for everyone, free childcare, unlimited food for food banks and a reduction in parking fines. “It is also possible in Germany, for example, so here in the Netherlands we also have to ensure that tax money really goes to the citizen.” How he wants to pay for that is not very concrete. “Amsterdam is a metropolis, one of the richest cities in the world. So much tax is collected, I think it’s time to give money to citizens instead of just collecting it.”
“I hope to have achieved three seats: “I think young people are behind me and I think they will produce many political parties.” He wants to make sure that people who normally don’t vote now vote for him: “I’m coming for you. I’ll take that throne!”