Campaign leaders for the municipal elections look back at Stichting Machiavelli

On the morning after the House of Representatives elections, Stichting Machiavelli traditionally looked back on the campaign. Under the guidance of Fons Lambie (RTL) and Remco Meijer (de Volkskrant), campaign leaders Hanneke Steen (CDA), Robert van Asten (D66), Benjamin van Es (VVD), Laura Vissenberg (GL-PvdA), and Coen Bom (Hart voor Den Haag) engaged in discussion with one another at Nieuwspoort about the municipal elections. Topics included the first results, campaign videos, and the relationship between national and local governance.

The results: what stands out?

Coen Bom (Hart voor Den Haag) took the stage as the biggest winner. His party grew in The Hague from 9 to 16 seats. “In every municipality where we participated, we won,” he noted with a wink. GroenLinks–PvdA can also look back with satisfaction: the party became the largest nationwide in the municipal elections. According to campaign leader Vissenberg, this is partly due to their positive and constructive stance following the recent House of Representatives elections.

Coalition parties VVD, D66, and CDA show a mixed picture: gains in some places, losses in others. Still, Hanneke Steen (CDA) described it as “a nice boost” for the newly formed coalition. According to her, the results underline voters’ confidence in these parties.

Social media and the strength of local governance

A striking feature of this campaign was the many personal campaign videos by candidates on social media, some of which were shared and viewed thousands of times. This is linked to the recent ban on political advertising on major platforms such as Meta. Vissenberg calls this a positive development: it “forces parties and candidates to be creative.” Van Es (VVD) agrees, saying he “enjoyed the many videos that went viral.” Bom acknowledged that the ban was initially seen as a risk, as a large part of the campaign budget had been allocated to it. Nevertheless, his party ultimately reached “a larger audience than ever before.”

The relationship between local and national politics was also discussed extensively. CDA, VVD, and GL-PvdA emphasized that The Hague depends on local administrators for the implementation of policy. Van Asten (D66) stated that both levels of government, even on sensitive issues such as the Distribution Act, do not have to be at odds with each other, provided there is constructive cooperation. Bom used this moment to criticize the exclusion of his party after the previous municipal elections, at the time led by D66 in The Hague. He expressed the hope that “The Hague will finally start listening to local politics.”

Missed the debate? You can watch it back here.

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