Leefbaar Rotterdam
Encyclopedia
Livable Rotterdam is a political party in the large Dutch
city of Rotterdam
. It won the council elections of March 2002 due to the charismatic leadership of Pim Fortuyn
. This made it the city's largest political party, a position held for 30 years by PvdA (Labour Party). Leefbaar Rotterdam started as a spin-off of the national party Leefbaar Nederland but is commonly seen as the local party of the LPF (Lijst Pim Fortuyn), the national party of Pim Fortuyn which was founded just after Pim Fortuyn was fired as lijsttrekker
of the Leefbaar Nederland party in spring 2002.
The party consists of a large number of members that are new to politics and were attracted to Fortuyn's dreams of political change. The party attracts attention and criticism for the impolitic behavior of its members and its unconventional, sometimes right wing vision, especially on immigration
and tolerance
. This has resulted in numerous splits in the faction since 2002. Nieuw Rechts was an example of this.
In the municipal elections of 7 March 2006 Leefbaar Rotterdam lost 5%, dropping to 29,7% of their votes and PvdA gained 15%, making the latter the biggest party again, with 37,4% of the votes. Before the elections, Leefbaar Rotterdam declared it would not enter in a coalition with PvdA and several members even declared that, irrespective of the coalition, they would leave the council if PvdA would become the biggest party (which has happened).
After the municipal elections of March 3, 2010 the Public Prosecutor in Rotterdam launched an investigation into how proxy votes
were solicited by the party, after an e-mail emerged in which one of the party’s councelors gives tips on how to accumulate these. Ronald Buijt wrote that he had 50 reliable citizens of the city who could take the proxy votes to the polling stations. The electoral council said this went against the spirit of proxy voting, which should only be used at the initiative of the voter. This irregularity was added to a litany of complaints against the poll in Rotterdam in these elections (many of which were caused by the PvdA), which resulted in a recount of all the casted votes. The PvdA only beat Leefbaar Rotterdam by a mere 650 votes, yet both parties now have 14 seats in the city council.
The founder and current leader of the party is Ronald Sørensen
.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
city of Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
. It won the council elections of March 2002 due to the charismatic leadership of Pim Fortuyn
Pim Fortuyn
Wilhelmus Simon Petrus Fortuijn, known as Pim Fortuyn was a Dutch politician, civil servant, sociologist, author and professor who formed his own party, Pim Fortuyn List ....
. This made it the city's largest political party, a position held for 30 years by PvdA (Labour Party). Leefbaar Rotterdam started as a spin-off of the national party Leefbaar Nederland but is commonly seen as the local party of the LPF (Lijst Pim Fortuyn), the national party of Pim Fortuyn which was founded just after Pim Fortuyn was fired as lijsttrekker
Lijsttrekker
Lijsttrekker is a Dutch term for the top candidate of a party on a party list. He or she is almost always the party's political leader. After an election, this person usually leads the party's faction in the States-General, or serves in a senior position in the Cabinet if his party is part of...
of the Leefbaar Nederland party in spring 2002.
The party consists of a large number of members that are new to politics and were attracted to Fortuyn's dreams of political change. The party attracts attention and criticism for the impolitic behavior of its members and its unconventional, sometimes right wing vision, especially on immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
and tolerance
Toleration
Toleration is "the practice of deliberately allowing or permitting a thing of which one disapproves. One can meaningfully speak of tolerating, ie of allowing or permitting, only if one is in a position to disallow”. It has also been defined as "to bear or endure" or "to nourish, sustain or preserve"...
. This has resulted in numerous splits in the faction since 2002. Nieuw Rechts was an example of this.
In the municipal elections of 7 March 2006 Leefbaar Rotterdam lost 5%, dropping to 29,7% of their votes and PvdA gained 15%, making the latter the biggest party again, with 37,4% of the votes. Before the elections, Leefbaar Rotterdam declared it would not enter in a coalition with PvdA and several members even declared that, irrespective of the coalition, they would leave the council if PvdA would become the biggest party (which has happened).
After the municipal elections of March 3, 2010 the Public Prosecutor in Rotterdam launched an investigation into how proxy votes
Proxy voting
Proxy voting has two forms: delegable voting and delegated voting, which are procedures for the delegation to another member of a voting body of that member's power to vote in his absence, and/or for the selection of additional representatives, as in the case with transitive proxies...
were solicited by the party, after an e-mail emerged in which one of the party’s councelors gives tips on how to accumulate these. Ronald Buijt wrote that he had 50 reliable citizens of the city who could take the proxy votes to the polling stations. The electoral council said this went against the spirit of proxy voting, which should only be used at the initiative of the voter. This irregularity was added to a litany of complaints against the poll in Rotterdam in these elections (many of which were caused by the PvdA), which resulted in a recount of all the casted votes. The PvdA only beat Leefbaar Rotterdam by a mere 650 votes, yet both parties now have 14 seats in the city council.
The founder and current leader of the party is Ronald Sørensen
Ronald Sørensen
Ronald Sørensen is a Dutch politician.- Biography :Sørensen obtained an M.A. in history from Utrecht University. Before he became political active he was a history and biology teacher...
.