One of the Netherlands’ most outspoken Dutch Moroccans, Ahmed Marcouch, has lost his bid to lead the Labour party in the new Amsterdam borough of Nieuw West despite having the backing of party leader Wouter Bos.

Marcouch lost the local party vote to the relatively unknown Achmed Baadoud, who is said to take a more behind the scenes approach. Marcouch is known for his confrontational style.
The number of borough councils in Amsterdam will be reduced from 14 to seven in January. There are local elections on March 3, 2010.