Local Elections 2010

Last minute plans as campaign nears end

A flurry of last-minute appeals to voters and calls for less bureaucracy marked the second-last day of campaigning ahead of Wednesday's local elections.

Caretaker finance minister Jan Kees de Jager, out campaigning for the Christian Democrats, called for a sharp reduction in the number of permits and licences for both private individuals and small firms.

'Simply get rid of lots and lots of them,' De Jager was quoted as saying. He quoted the example of the cafe owner who needs to apply for two different permits if he changes brewery and wants to swap pub signs.

'The Netherlands has become a country of traffic lights, but the traffic flow is much better using roundabouts,' he said.

Stop and search

Meanwhile, the right-wing Liberal party VVD says that the police should be given powers to stop and search anyone they like, whether they are suspected of any crime.

At the moment, body searches are only allowed in specially-designated areas. It has been proved that stopping and searching can help reduce incidents involving weapons, VVD MP Fred Teeven said.

Threats

In Almere, a number of shopkeepers report being told to take down election posters for the fringe party NDP by men claiming to be from Geert Wilders anti-immigration party PVV.

'I was phoned and told to take down a poster otherwise I would get a stone through the window,' shopkeeper Cor Valies told the Parool.

Some 100 people dressed in pjamas covered with flowers took part in an anti-Wilders demonstration in the polder city at the weekend.

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