DutchNews.nl - Rotterdam picks Dutch Moroccan for mayor

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Rotterdam picks Dutch Moroccan for mayor

Friday 17 October 2008

Junior social affairs minister Ahmed Aboutaleb is poised to become the new mayor of Rotterdam, after council officials voted to nominate him for the job. Aboutaleb, a Labour party member, will be the first mayor in the Netherlands to have a Moroccan background.

Prior to joining the cabinet, Aboutaleb was in charge of social issues on Amsterdam city council.

Aboutaleb told news agency ANP he first started thinking about applying for the job in the summer. ‘It is a really nice city, with a special population make-up and a great history,’ Aboutaleb was quoted as saying.

He dismissed criticism that he was leaving the cabinet half way through doing the job. ‘What is important is that you stay in a public function,’ he said.

Aboutaleb’s Labour party is the biggest on the port city council.

Opposition

The second biggest party, Leefbaar Rotterdam (Liveable Rotterdam), is furious at the appointment. ‘He is an Amsterdammer, he is a careerist and an Ajax supporter, but the worst thing is that he has two passports,’ party leader Ronald Sorensen told ANP.

Aboutaleb has dual Dutch and Moroccan nationality. Since his appointment to the cabinet, he has been under considerable pressure from right-wing parties to give up his Moroccan nationality.

The party, which was founded by murdered right-winger Pim Fortuyn, said the job should be decided by referendum. Mayors in the Netherlands are technically crown appointees although councils can put a list of approved candidates up for a public vote. Rotterdam city council decided against holding a referendum in April.

Geert Wilders, leader of the anti immigration party PVV said ‘the appointment of a Moroccan as mayor of Holland’s second biggest city is as insane as making a Dutchman mayor of Mecca.’

Aboutaleb replaces Ivo Opstelten, who is leaving the job after 10 years.

The appointment still has to be formally confirmed by the home affairs ministry.

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Readers' comments

Aboutaleb should not be allowed to become the Mayor of Rotterdam at any cost. He should be disqualified for the top job because he is a moroccan and he refused to disown his morroccan passport.

By Chhetri | October 18, 2008 12:27 AM