Labour MP Sharon Dijksma is abandoning the Labour parliamentary party to take up a post as alderwoman in Amsterdam, the Telegraaf reported on Thursday.

If, as many observers think, a left-wing coalition in Amsterdam will soon become a reality, Dijksma will be one of two Labour members on the capital’s local council. She will be responsible for the new metro link, taxi policy, parking policy and water and air quality, the paper writes.

Dijksma, a former junior minister in two cabinets headed by Mark Rutte, is thought to be a ‘big gun’ that can strengthen Labour’s position in the council but is also seen as an ‘important strategic supporter’ of party leader Lodewijk Asscher in The Hague. It is not often an MP takes on a job in a local council, the paper writes.

‘I am honoured to be living and working in our beautiful capital. There are many challenges because this fantastic metropole needs to be liveable, accessible and dynamic while at the same time giving Amsterdammers a bit more space to breathe,’ Dijksma is quoted as saying.

Aldermen

The Parool has a list of who it says will take six of the eight aldermen’s jobs in the capital when the new coalition is finalised.

The paper says local GroenLinks leader Rutger Groot Wassink will take on work & income and participation, and the party will also get the art & culture and planning & sustainability portfolios.

Three sitting aldermen will remain on the city’s executive board: Udo Kock (D66) will get finance, the economy and the ports (including Schiphol); Simone Kukenheim (D66) will move from education to care services, crime and sport and the SP’s Laurens Ivens will remain in charge of housing.

Ivens, whose party support fell from six to three seats in March local elections, campaigned on a strong ‘Amsterdam for the Amsterdammers’ ticket and wants to restrict access to housing by outsiders.

The sixth known alderman, says the Parool, is local Labour leader Marjolein Moorman who will get the education & integration job.