Christian Democrat Hans de Boer, formerly head of the small business association MKB-Nederland, has applied for the job of Rotterdam mayor, reports news agency ANP.

The Christian Democrats have the right to deliver the port city’s next mayor because not one of the four major Dutch cities has a mayor from the country’s largest party.
Last year the Christian Democratic mayor of The Hague, Wim Deetman stepped down; he was replaced by the free-market Liberal Jozias van Aartsen.