Rotterdam: Aboutaleb inaugurated as first Muslim mayor
Ahmed Aboutaleb, a Moroccan immigrant, has been inaugurated as mayor of Rotterdam on Monday. The former Labour deputy minister for social affairs is the Netherlands' first mayor with Moroccan roots.
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Aboutaleb (47) does not face an easy task in his new position. Integration and crime are major political issues in Rotterdam. The city of 585,000 has the largest proportion of immigrants of any major Dutch city. At the same time, practical matters like infrastructure and the port of Rotterdam's finances will also demand the mayor's attention.
Aboutaleb's appointment has met with mixed reactions. On the one hand he has been heralded as the "Barack Obama of Rotterdam". On the other hand, the city was the launch pad for of murdered Pim Fortuyn's populist right-wing movement, which sent shockwaves through Dutch politics in 2002.
There has been criticism of Aboutaleb's appointment from today's populist right-wing parties, not least local party Leefbaar Rotterdam, which holds nearly a third of the city's council seats, although it is not part of the ruling coalition. Party members have not only objected to the fact that Aboutaleb holds dual Moroccan and Dutch citizenship. They also point out that he supports Amsterdam football team Ajax, bitter rival of Rotterdam club Feyenoord.
Source: NRC (English)
Previous Reports:
* Rotterdam: Moroccan-born Muslim appointed mayor
Ahmed Aboutaleb, a Moroccan immigrant, has been inaugurated as mayor of Rotterdam on Monday. The former Labour deputy minister for social affairs is the Netherlands' first mayor with Moroccan roots.
(..)
Aboutaleb (47) does not face an easy task in his new position. Integration and crime are major political issues in Rotterdam. The city of 585,000 has the largest proportion of immigrants of any major Dutch city. At the same time, practical matters like infrastructure and the port of Rotterdam's finances will also demand the mayor's attention.
Aboutaleb's appointment has met with mixed reactions. On the one hand he has been heralded as the "Barack Obama of Rotterdam". On the other hand, the city was the launch pad for of murdered Pim Fortuyn's populist right-wing movement, which sent shockwaves through Dutch politics in 2002.
There has been criticism of Aboutaleb's appointment from today's populist right-wing parties, not least local party Leefbaar Rotterdam, which holds nearly a third of the city's council seats, although it is not part of the ruling coalition. Party members have not only objected to the fact that Aboutaleb holds dual Moroccan and Dutch citizenship. They also point out that he supports Amsterdam football team Ajax, bitter rival of Rotterdam club Feyenoord.
Source: NRC (English)
Previous Reports:
* Rotterdam: Moroccan-born Muslim appointed mayor
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