Amsterdam votes | Pelle Monnens (GroenLinks): “Public transport should be free”
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: Pelle Monnens (20) of GroenLinks: “I still live at home because it is very difficult to find housing in Amsterdam.”
Why should UvA students in Amsterdam vote for you?
“Because I want young people and students to be better represented in the council. We see that politics does very little about issues that are important to students, such as housing and the climate crisis. At the national level, decisions are mainly being made that help wealthy people on the housing market. I want to offer a left-wing alternative to that. I still live at home because it is very difficult to find housing in Amsterdam, and I see the same thing among my fellow students. That is why we must crack down hard on slum landlords who profit from the housing crisis. We cannot allow rogue landlords to exploit students.”
When I read your programme, I see a strong emphasis on green topics, with one striking proposal: declaring 11 April Amsterdam Tree Day. Is climate not discussed enough in Amsterdam?
“No, I don’t think it is. I am worried about the future and about the livability of the planet. At the national level nothing was done about this under the previous cabinet, and even now that D66 is the largest party the climate targets are not being met. That is why it is especially important that we go a step further in Amsterdam. With Amsterdam Tree Day we are choosing a positive approach, because it is good to show that trees really belong in the city, but of course that is not the only thing we are doing. Alderman Zita Pels has insulated fifty thousand homes in recent years, which has brought energy bills down.”
“It is also simply Amsterdam’s role to take the lead. We are a bold city that takes the initiative. For example by building new homes within the existing city, rather than in the natural areas around it, but also by putting an end to patio heaters. It may be a shame for students that those heaters disappear, but we also see that they in particular take the climate crisis very seriously. That means we cannot keep using those heaters while we can just as easily have a beer indoors. I think students can live with that perfectly well.”
Pelle Monnens (20) is a first-year political science student at the UvA. He has lived his entire life in the Staatsliedenbuurt in Amsterdam-West. In the municipal elections he is placed 21st on the list for GroenLinks.
Also interesting for Amsterdam’s students: the word bicycle appears no fewer than 21 times in your programme. What are the most important cycling measures GroenLinks wants to introduce?
“We believe it is important to make space for cycling in Amsterdam. It is healthy, Amsterdam is a beautiful city to cycle through, and cars are bad for the environment. That is why we want to invest in cycle lanes, so that the city is accessible for cyclists. The city centre is small, compact and crowded, so it is better to travel by public transport or by bicycle than by car. We therefore want to make public transport free, to offer something in return for that car-light city centre.”
“We also want to introduce a maximum speed on cycle lanes, because we see children and older people being knocked down at high speed by fatbikes. That is unsafe, so we have to tackle that issue. Safe cycling is not possible when electric bikes are constantly racing past at forty kilometres per hour.”
