As part of TheHagueOnLine's commitment to provide our readers with information regarding the upcoming Municipal Elections, Andrew Balcombe interviews the Lead Candidate of the PvdA Labour Party, Jeltje van Nieuwenhoven.

What does the PvdA stand for?

The PvdA stands for equality for everyone. Our motto is the PvdA comes from everyone and stands for everyone “everyone counts”. We strive for full employment and for everyone to have proper housing at an affordable price.

It is important that we have good schools too, not only for small children but also high schools with lower achieving children of MBO level. The PvdA believes that no child should leave school without a diploma.

We want all Hague residents to speak Dutch. But we also realise that with Expats who come here for a few years, this is not always practical. If you do come here to live permanently or for a long time, then I believe you should try and learn the language.

The PvdA also wants The Hague to be a fully sustainable climate neutral city by 2040, not 2050 as it stands presently. I think we have to start tomorrow and shouldn’t wait in beginning to improve the global climate.

Often Expats are simply thought of as a source of profit, employment and opportunity. How does your party view Expats?

No, that is not important to us. The Hague is a centre for justice and freedom. Did you know, that from the 16th century, the city has been a city of diplomats and embassies? It is in our history and culture to be international and I am proud of that tradition. I want it to continue to grow, and it is growing. We have so many international organisations here now, as well as courts. We have to have international people living here in The Hague. Of course, if they do their shopping here then that is a bonus, but not the main reason to welcome them.

How can The Hague be included on the High Speed Line route?

(The line only runs between Rotterdam and Amsterdam, missing The Hague, but saving roughly 10 minutes travelling time).

Well, I was a member of the national parliament when the decision was made for the HSL to bypass The Hague, and I lived in Amsterdam at that time. But I was one of the four people in our party who voted against it going past The Hague. We were unfortunately outnumbered though. What is ten minutes when you are travelling to Paris?

I don’t think it will ever come through The Hague now though. Too much money has been spent on the present line. It is a pity, a real pity. The Hague is the international city in The Netherlands and the high-speed train doesn’t even come here. I don’t think they thought about it properly.

Who is your greatest opposition?

The VVD, (Dutch Liberal Party) I think. But we are in a coalition with them and we both contribute to the coalition program of the local council. Saying that, we do work together well, but there are many things we don’t agree on.

There is also Geert Wilders’ party, the Party for Freedom the PVV. It first originated from the VVD, which is the Party for Freedom and Democracy. Both parties have the word ‘freedom’ in their names, but I always say the party that really stands for freedom is the Dutch Labour Party (PvdA). Because, both of the other parties do not give everyone the same freedom. If you can’t provide opportunity for everyone, then that is not true freedom. The PvdA stands for equality for everyone and it doesn’t matter where your parents came from.

What are some of the issues you believe Expats care about?

Well for starters, housing, good schooling and culture. We have fantastic museums in The Hague, the Gemeente museum is one of the Netherlands' best. The Museon is great for kids and shows a lot of photo exhibitions.

I also know Expats want to feel that they feel welcome, especially when they come to the City Hall. We want the Alderman to open an Expat desk in the Foyer of City hall where all the Expats needs such as schooling, housing, phone and other practical necessities are taken care of.

The service we have now is only for some expats and not the entire group. It is only directed at a few nationalities, for high brow expats, not for everybody, especially not for Polish people or others from former Eastern Europe. Expats are not one group of people with only one kind of question, but they are many different kinds of people with all kinds of questions.

What are your dreams for the city in the coming five years?

My dreams are also for tomorrow, not just the coming five, 10 or 15 years. During this economic uncertainty, one of my dreams is that everyone has the right to social security. But also that they should work for their social security payments. If there are not enough jobs in their present vocation, the city should step in and have them work in other areas or do volunteer work.

My dream is that all of those capable of working should do so. It doesn’t make sense to me that people are doing nothing while being paid social security.

Another issue that I am passionate about is that The Hague becomes the Cultural Capital of Europe in 2018. A remake of the Spuiplein area will help us achieve this, I believe. Over the next year we want to decide on building a new conservatorium in that part of the city.

At the moment, the current building, although a fantastic venue, is a little old and too small. We want to move it to Spuiplein, so it becomes the music centre of the city and the cultural place to be.

The PvdA believes that people of our great city all make a difference, and that everybody counts!

By Andrew Balcombe

More information on the Municipal elections can be found in our Election Special section.

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