Small discussion during the electoral debate in Ratum

Sun 27 Feb 2022, 20:24

To read aloud
Politics

No party excluded in advance when forming a new coalition

By Bernhard Harfsterkamp

WINTERSWIJK – Many words were once again devoted to the administrative culture of the municipality during the first major electoral debate in the Emma building in Ratum. It was organized by the entrepreneurs of the countryside, the agricultural organization LTO and the interest groups of the hamlets. There was no real debate on Saturday 26 February. The seven party leaders and number two on the D66 list mainly took turns responding to statements.

Responding to statements about the role of agriculture and quality of life
The organization had opted for five statements on which an opinion could be given. The declarations related to the (poor) administrative culture, the place of farmers in rural areas, the involvement of inhabitants, the use of income from the tourist tax for agriculture and the quality of life in rural areas. The positions of the eight parties participating in the municipal elections clearly diverge on some of these themes. They agreed on a lot of things. Due to the chosen setup, there was little room for proper discussion with each other. It happened once.

Finding a balance between different interests
The search for a good balance in the countryside between the different interests proved to be a common thread. This balance would be disturbed because there are too many developments that require land, often agricultural land, and this could be at the expense of the valuable cultural landscape. Housing on the Tuunterveld and in the hamlets, a new business park on the Missterweg, parks for solar energy production, extension of camping grounds and new nature around the four Natura2000 areas require space. Topics such as administrative culture, agriculture and the involvement of the inhabitants were always briefly touched upon. It turned out that CDA, Voor Winterswijk and Frontale prioritized agriculture. The VVD also wants to give space, but party leader Inge Klein Gunnewiek thinks it is equally important to find space for businesses and housing. The other parties felt that there should be room for other functions besides agriculture. Freek Deunk (D66) underlined that it is not only agriculture that ensures the preservation of the landscape. “There are many individuals who are committed to the landscape with love.”

“Sometimes felt personally attacked”
The subjects on which there has been a lot of debate in recent years and on which the residents felt that the municipality did not sufficiently hear, were mainly related to spatial planning, the portfolio of Alderman Inge Klein Gunnewiek. “Sometimes I felt personally attacked. I don’t feel safe with this. She said anyone can always approach her for a chat and she didn’t recognize herself in the claims of being unapproachable. She hopes that mutual relations will improve after the municipal elections and that this will be discussed between them. All the participants in the debate had already said that the opinions should be expressed in a normal way within the municipal council. This does not include stalled coalition agreements. There must be room for input from the opposition. All parties have indicated that they will not prevent any of the others from forming a new coalition after the elections. “We have preferences,” said Wim Wassink (CDA), “We want to do our best for Winterswijk.” Freek Deunk (D66) thinks that given the content of electoral programs, there are logical and less logical combinations.

What will be settled in four years?
During the debate, there were discussions about what had gone wrong and what should be done differently over the next four years. Rudi te Selle (LTO) wanted to know at the end what the parties should be judged on in four years. André van Nijkerken (Tomorrow) wants everyone to be able to relate to the content and wants to play a liaison role. “We can be judged on careful process.” Elvira Schapers (PvdA) mentioned quality of life, social cohesion, inclusion and the approach to poverty. Oliver Heming (Frontale) wants to show in four years that he has meant a lot to farmers and young people. “That we have formed a reliable board of directors and that we have achieved good things for Winterswijk,” said Wim Wassink (CDA). Freek Deunk (D66) wants his party to have a serene and reasonable policy geared towards the future. Erwin te Selle (Winterswijks Belang) can be judged if his party has done enough for the quality of life. For Inge Klein Gunnewiek, the territorial approach to the periphery, which ensures that agriculture can function well there, is the point of payment. For Tom van Beek (Voor Winterswijk), there were good discussions with those involved in the small and large projects.