Mayor Gert-Jan Kats van Veenendaal says goodbye to the SGP. He claims to have reached that conclusion after many considerations and a long process. Hell stay on as mayor.
Last weekend, the mayor wrote on Twitter that he was reconsidering his SGP membership after a discussion within the party about whether or not to cooperate with Forum for Democracy. “With openly anti-Semites you cross a line that you should not want to cross. Too bad the party doesnt pull this line,” the mayor said on Twitter.
His decision, according to the mayor, has not only to do with last weekends discussion. “I come to the conclusion that the party and I have grown apart politically over the course of years. Not on one specific point, but on multiple topics and points of view.”
Kats says the party congress gave him the last push. “The point I would have liked to see is that party-wide unequivocally distancing parties and individuals who turn against inclusive societies and increase rather than reduce the contradictions. I have missed that clarity and I regret it.”
According to RTV Utrecht, Kats emphasizes that the cancellation of his membership is a personal choice and is separate from his position as mayor of Veenendaal. “Mayor is not a political function, so for my commitment to Veenendaal, this choice has no meaning. Without binding to a political party, I will continue to work fully for everyone in our beautiful city.”