Amsterdam deserves aldermen with an opinion
Marjolein Moorman has barely recovered from the victory she booked for the PvdA in Amsterdam, or the nagging has begun. Anonymous school administrators were allowed in the Volkskrant complain about their alderman, who, as far as they were concerned, was too concerned with her national image. One can guess who they are: probably administrators of the rich, white elite schools from South who have been developments in recent years with the interference of an alderman with an opinion. A PvdA member indeed, chosen to promote mixed education. If this is their heaviest criticism of Moorman, it’s no surprise that she’s doing so well as an alderman.
Yes, Moorman is a former senior lecturer in political communication at the UvA and was previously active as a communication strategist. Although I don’t like communication advisors and advisors in politics, I dare to argue that the colleges of B and W in Amsterdam and other cities could use a little more Moorman.
That’s how it works: since the emergence of D66 (2014 and GroenLinks) in councils of large cities, aldermen are placed in 2018 by anonymous administrators. Their business card reads alderman, but in practice they are a kind of super-civil servants who mainly keep the top of the policy pyramid running under the guise of ‘effective manager’ or ‘silent power in the background’. Current alderman Van Doorninck (GroLinks) has a brand awareness of 22 percent, Simone Kukenheim (D66) only 18 percent, they have both been involved in Amsterdam politics for as long as Moorman.
Making policy is important work, but the bar is really higher for Amsterdam aldermen. An alderman position in a large city comes with a huge microphone that you have to use to grasp problems from the rooftops. Aldermen will integrate much more actively in the social debate on, for example, housing, climate and inequality, preferably through the free press instead of the municipal channels that do not take anyone seriously.
Look at Floor Wibaut (welfare), look at Jan Schaefer (housing) and Ahmed Aboutaleb (Dutch nationality), but more recently also Eric van der Burg (VVD) or Andrée van Es (GroenLinks). They were all aldermen who used their positions to become ambassadors for the problems of their time. Van Es was one of the first Dutch administrators to speak out against Zwarte Piet in 2012. Van der Burg became a figurehead of healthy living and strong government intervention to achieve this.
What this legislative state was in their time news and met a lot of resistance, now the standing policy of it is in the coalition agreement. Amsterdam deserves aldermen with an opinion that shows the rest of the Netherlands that life in large cities is changing rapidly and that groups of people are getting into trouble. Anyone who does this successfully will eventually be identified with the subjects they are responsible for, just look at Moorman.
Marjolein’s is a reminder of this kind of city administrator, her election victory is proof that Amsterdammers are successful there.
Political reporter Ruben Koops In ‘Republic of Amsterdam’ highlights a political topic from the city.
React? [email protected].