Dutch-American politician Peter Hoekstra will almost certainly be confirmed as the new US ambassador to the Netherlands next month, public broadcaster NOS reports.

Hoekstra apparently ‘sailed through’ a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday in which he was questioned about his conservative principles.

Asked by Democratic senator Chris Murphy whether his convictions would clash with the those of the Dutch government, he reportedly said: ‘my opinions might be different from Dutch policies but I value and respect every individual, and that I have in common with the Dutch.’

He added that it is not his task as ambassador to influence legislation ‘which might be a good policy for that country’.

‘No-go zones’

Hoekstra’s earlier controversial comments about the Netherlands were not mentioned.

In 2015, he told the NRC that there was chaos in the Netherlands due to a ‘secret jihad’ in Europe. ‘Cars are being set on fire, politicians are being set on fire,’ the NRC quoted him as saying. ‘Yes, there are no-go zones in the Netherlands.’

He is known to be a supporter of Trump’s policy on the migration of Muslims to the United States and Europe. Hoekstra is also said to oppose gay marriage and abortion, both of which are legal in the Netherlands.

The prospective ambassador, who was born in Groningen but whose family emigrated to the US when he was three, said he was looking forward to returning to his parents’ land.

If confirmed, Hoekstra will be the first US ambassador to the Netherlands since early 2016, when Timothy Broas resigned. Since 2005, no US ambassador to the Netherlands has completed a four-year term in office.

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