Halsema at Room for Discussion: ‘Amsterdam should not become a city only for the rich’
The election results had just been announced when Mayor Femke Halsema joined the Room for Discussion debate platform in the theme of Amsterdam’s 750th anniversary celebrations. Halsema is proud of her city, but she fears it is “in danger of turning into an amusement park.”
Mayor Halsema was invited to the Room for Discussion (RfD) debate platform in the theme of Amsterdam’s 750th anniversary celebrations. Her visit came just one day after the elections, in which the GroenLinks-PvdA party did not perform as well as hoped and Frans Timmermans announced his departure. Does Halsema want to return to national politics to perhaps fill Timmermans’ place? She is clear about that: “No, I will not be applying.”
Halsema said she felt ‘depressed’ when she went to bed at midnight and saw that an ‘anti-democratic party’ (referring to the PVV) was gaining ground. But she thanked the Amsterdam public for the result, in which her party, GroenLinks-PvdA, came out on top. Halsema was the leader of GroenLinks in the Second Chamber from 2002 to 2010.
Laughter
The atmosphere at RfD was noticeably lighter than during her previous visit—when protesters turned their backs on her and there was loud noise outside from protesters angry about the heavy-handed police action during the occupation of the Binnengasthuis site and REC in May 2024. This time at RfD, she said that the municipality had tried to stay in contact during the student protests on Roeterseiland that got out of hand, but that this ‘did not always succeed’. The atmosphere at this edition of RfD with Halsema was much lighter than before; Halsema and RfD interviewers Dirk Koeleman and Max Zaslove laughed several times, and the audience seemed to appreciate Halsema’s answers with their applause.
Looking beyond 750 years of Amsterdam
During the celebration of 750 years of Amsterdam last Monday, Halsema felt that the city was beautifully showcased in all its diversity. “I was proud.” She compares the feeling to Billy Joel’s ‘New York State of Mind’: Amsterdam is a city of tolerance, curiosity, and a little strangeness. But Halsema was also relieved that all the 750th anniversary celebrations were over. “I’m done with it now,” she says.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t just light-hearted conversation; critical topics were not shied away from either. Halsema spoke with visible concern about gentrification and the pressure on the housing market. According to her, Amsterdam is in danger of becoming not only a city for the rich, but also a city in which social cohesion is disappearing. “We are the richest and the poorest city in the Netherlands,” she says. “The middle class is disappearing, and that is bad for the social fabric.” Families with an average income, such as teachers, police officers, and nurses, are being pushed further and further out of the city. “A city can only survive with people who do the work that keeps a city running,” she emphasized. That is why Halsema advocates for the emancipation of the lower class by investing more money in those neighborhoods.
Halsema also expressed concern about overtourism in the historic city center, “which threatens to turn it into a ‘amusement park’, similar to cities such as Venice and Dubrovnik.” Halsema: “Overtourism damages the economy. Many visitors go to international stores or hotel chains, not to local businesses. The added value for the city center is declining.” Halsema says that Amsterdammers should ‘reclaim’ their city. She wants to follow the example of Barcelona, where the local population protested against overtourism, and successfully, says Halsema. Halsema leaves it up to national and European politicians to figure out how to achieve this here.
The plan for a new erotic center, which Halsema supports, was also discussed. Halsema reiterated that she wanted to give the Red Light District a new image. But political support proved difficult to find when coalition partner D66 ultimately withdrew. Halsema herself says she is ‘surprised’ by the protests against the erotic center. “Sex work is legal, but people react as if it were poison for their children. Even though those children are already confronted with pornography on social media,” she says.
Difficulty with English
It was striking that Halsema visibly struggled with English, the language in which the conversation was conducted. She had to be helped several times by the interview duo. For example, she couldn’t find the word “reclaim” for ‘heroveren’. “I haven't spoken English in weeks,” she says.
