The VVD calls on internationals to vote

VVD Executive councillor of the Amsterdam City Centre, Erik Koldenhof, wants to start a 24/7 cleaning service, to remove graffiti within 24 hours. However, Frank feels that “not just the city environment needs improvement; the service industry needs stimulus as well. It is totally unacceptable that taxi drivers, tram drivers and other service personnel are rude or, even worse, rip people off. The fact that people at the tax office are no longer allowed to communicate with expats in English, as many friends told me, is really strange and, again, unacceptable in my eyes. Service programs can help solve these problems.”

Last week van Dalen called for action to turn the South-Axis in Amsterdam into an international centre, mixing living, work and entertainment. There should be a large modern club and room for art in public spaces, which is also projected onto the beautiful architecture. Van Dalen also proposed to introduce international street names like Shanghai Boulevard or Sydney Avenue. “It makes it instantly clear what the South-Axis is all about: ambition, progress and Amsterdam as an attractive international centre for business, tourism and residence," says van Dalen.

But a thriving business environment is not the only focus point of the VVD. Van Dalen feels that “education is one of our other big themes. More and more schools in Holland are offering bi-lingual education. We should stimulate this. At the same time, we have a quality issue in Amsterdam with a lot of schools. This and long waiting lists for the school of your choice need to finally get solved. The same is true for the housing market. Especially in Amsterdam, the housing market is totally mired. It is almost impossible to find a house that is affordable. Left-wing ideologies about market regulations have had many unforeseen effects on the Amsterdam housing market. The solutions are actually quite simple, but do not get a chance of being implemented while the left-wing parties are in power. However, as we continuously press for improvements, things are changing.”

Van Dalen, who is running a personal campaign under the motto ‘Amsterdam, Frank and Free’, wants to get rid of a lot of regulations. He feels that “the city meddles in everything and tries to regulate every detail. This is suffocating every initiative, as well as the metropolitan spirit that should fit Amsterdam so well. We need to simplify the process of gathering information about living in Amsterdam, about education for your children, about work visas and about how legislation in the Netherlands and Amsterdam works. If you’re young with an international career, you want to live in a lively metropolis; so there needs to be more opportunities for expats to meet each other. Amsterdam needs to once again offer real nightlife with more hip restaurants and bars, liberal opening hours, and more opportunities for parties and events. The VVD says ‘down with dreary’.”

“The VVD is the only political party who is in favour of lowering the parking tariffs and the introduction of visitors’ passes and against lowering the amount of parking lots in the city. These things apply to all people in living in Amsterdam ... that’s just the way it is. Expats are not tourists, but valuable residents of our city and should therefore be heard and taken seriously,” van Dalen concludes.