That GroenLinks is the winner is also apparent from the plans for the Rijnenburg polder. D66 and the PvdA said in the campaign that they want to start building as soon as possible, but in the agreement this has been postponed at least until 2035 and made dependent on the arrival of a tram. “Weak bite”, says Tom Staal. “2035, that gives another fifteen years to debate it. And then nothing happens.” Also the dependence on a tram cannot count on applause. “Lot (van Hooijdonk) and trams, that’s not a happy combination”, Van den Bergh recalls about the construction of the express tram to De Uithof. “I don’t care whether there will be a tram, there must be houses. Nothing has ever been built like this in the Netherlands.” In Japan they first build the infrastructure and only then start building. This is not common in the Netherlands, argues the former alderman.
Podcast Stadhuisplein: ‘GroenLinks negotiated the best for a new coalition’
