Maastricht’s mayor Onno Hoes has resigned following a string of allegations about his private life.

Hoes said he would quit as soon as a replacement has been found and that this would be before next summer. He is also planning legal action against public broadcaster Powned which made him the subject of a sting operation last week.

‘The city is wrestling with the consequences of an extremely controversial publication in the press and I cannot subject myself, the city and its officials to this any longer,’ Hoes said in a statement.

Going on to announce that he plans to take legal action, Hoes said his private life had been ‘deliberately and shamelessly’ made public. ‘I will ask the courts to determine the difference between what is public and what is private,’ he said.

Hoes hit the headlines a year ago while still married to television gossip show presenter Albert Verlinde.

Grindr

Dutch media made a string of allegations that the mayor was having affairs with younger men. He also placed a photograph of his naked torso on gay social media site Grindr.

Hoes survived the scandal although he and Verlinde separated in October after 22 years together.  Last week, however, broadcaster Powned carried out a sting operation on Hoes and a 20-year-old youth went public with Whatsapp exchanges between himself and the mayor. The mayor had also sent the young man photographs of his work diary.

Tragedy

In the Netherlands, officials’ private lives are largely considered private and there was considerable criticism of the Powned approach.

Maastricht aldermen said Hoes’ decision to stand down is a ‘personal tragedy’ and criticised the Powned broadcast which led to his downfall. ‘The Powned action served no good other than to damage a person,’ VVD councillors said in a statement.

Hoes was also at the forefront of efforts to stop tourists visiting the city’s cannabis cafes and was a strong supporter of the controversial ‘weed pass’ for locals.