Amsterdam votes | Max Leijten (PvdD): “Fifty thousand student homes in vacant office buildings”
The municipal elections are just around the corner. For this series, Folia is speaking with various UvA students who are standing for election in Amsterdam on 18 March. Today: Max Leijten (19) of the Partij voor de Dieren (Animal party). “I think Artis should eventually disappear.”
Why should UvA students from Amsterdam vote for you?
“There need to be new homes, but the current city executive is focusing heavily on new-build developments. In Amsterdam, that would come at the expense of green space, because there simply isn’t any room left. That’s why I believe tackling vacancy is a clear alternative. We have more than one million square metres of vacant office space. To put it bluntly: if you were to turn those into rooms of twenty square metres each, that would amount to fifty thousand student homes. I truly think we can get far more out of that than we currently are.”
“I’m also campaigning on the issue of energy poverty. In Amsterdam-Oost, many homes are poorly insulated, meaning residents pay through the nose for heating while living in houses at fifteen degrees. I find that unacceptable. In addition, Amsterdam-Oost is heavily built-up; we fall well short of green space standards. I believe we should be expanding green areas rather than removing them.”
In your election manifesto, it states that Amsterdam should generously support demonstrations, and that the party condemns police violence against demonstrators. What does this say about how the Party for the Animals views the many protests that have taken place at the UvA in recent years?
“During those protests we saw a great deal of police violence, and we condemned it. In that way, it was made dangerous to continue demonstrating; I personally know people who were seriously beaten. That is unacceptable. We need to find a way out of this without police officers having to turn up on bulldozers.”
“You must always be free to demonstrate; it may well be the most important fundamental right in a democracy. The acts of vandalism that took place around a very beautiful part of Amsterdam are deeply regrettable, but I think we must also acknowledge that a very long process preceded them. For an extended period, the UvA failed to listen to the demonstrators’ demands. There must be space at the university for protest and dissent; from time to time, you have to make your voice heard.”
First-year Political Science student Max Leijten (19) grew up in De Baarsjes, but has since lived in Amsterdam-Oost for many years. In the municipal elections of 18 March, he is placed 25th on the list for the Partij voor de Dieren. For the district committee of Amsterdam-Oost, he is listed in second place. In that district, he is also active as campaign coordinator.
Another striking point in the programme: Artis would be transformed into a city park. According to the PvdD, is there no place for a zoo in Amsterdam?
“Artis is a difficult issue. Those animals display depressive behaviour; you can clearly see that they are not happy there. So yes, I think Artis should eventually disappear. I’ve always found the educational argument rather weak, because in this way we mainly teach children that it is normal to confine animals in cages. With some other zoos, where there is far more space, I see it differently. But in the middle of Amsterdam, where everything is busy and cramped, this simply isn’t appropriate. In that case, a city park seems a good alternative to me.”
