Acceptance speech on reappointment

Dear residents of Apeldoorn – both here in the council chamber and at home watching the live stream – dear members of the municipal council, dear members of the executive committee,

Just imagine:

On a lovely spring day in the year 2050, you are returning from a family visit or from work elsewhere in the country. You are travelling by train and arrive at Apeldoorn Central Station. As you step onto the platform, you find yourself on a lovely flyover with a view over the city and – in the distance – the pretty villages, the springs and streams, the meadows, the River IJssel and the forests of the Veluwe.

You look down at the square below you. As you’ve just been to another town, you’re seeing it with fresh eyes, and suddenly it strikes you: Apeldoorn is alive!

Everywhere you look, you see young people walking about. They turn left past the Centre for Security and Digitalisation and Saxion, on the campus with its lecture theatres, laboratories, student accommodation, small-scale catering outlets and start-ups.

If they turn right, they’ll head for ROC Aventus, with its classrooms for differentiated teaching and state-of-the-art workshops.

Everywhere you look, you’ll see people heading to or from work at the sustainably built offices and meeting spaces around Apeldoorn Central Station. Via the transport hub behind the station, with electric buses, bicycles and light rail, everyone can get where they need to be in the blink of an eye.

Back on the other side of the railway line, a green corridor lined with shops and outdoor cafés leads you to the magnificent building that everyone deeply regrets not having bought when it was still affordable.

The police have a research and development centre there; there is an Academy for Public Resilience and Resilience; the Regional Employment Centre is based there; and the hospitality area regularly hosts symposia and festivals focusing on talent development, technology and safety.

And in the midst of it all, your eye is drawn to the charming Stationsplein with its distinctive Scots pines and the now-famous digital artwork depicting scenes of drifting sand on the Veluwe.

From this spot in the heart of the city – a prime hotspot – you, as a proud resident of Apeldoorn, can take in the whole view: from ‘De Kus’ nearby to ‘De Naald’ in the distance, from Gelre Hospital in the south to Het Loo Palace in the north, from Orpheus in the west to the Apeldoorn Sport Arena in the east. And much more besides – too much to mention. And if you look very closely, with a very sharp pair of binoculars, you can just about make out Zwolle and Deventer somewhere in the distance, very faintly.  You look at Apeldoorn and think to yourself: ‘What a city!’

With a population of 200,000. With villages, neighbourhoods and districts where people look out for one another. With all the amenities, from healthcare to culture and from education to sport.

And yet it is also right in the heart of the Veluwe. And with urban greenery wherever you look. Surrounded by a ring of beautiful and vibrant villages, which, as it were, embrace and hold the city – still the healthiest in the Netherlands – close.

It is also a city with a remarkable history. It was founded and grew under the patronage of the House of Orange-Nassau. Its development was further driven by the presence of the armed forces and the manufacturing industry, as well as tree nurseries and small local businesses. Further driven by family businesses and community life, and boosted by education, technological innovation and green infrastructure.

And driven forward until 2050 by sustainable housing, smart urban mobility, inquisitive students, innovative entrepreneurs and architecture that captures the imagination.

And all of that is simply your city, your municipality, Apeldoorn. In the year 2050.

Six years ago, I was standing here too, in this very spot, brimming with ambitions for Apeldoorn. I had read what sort of mayor you were looking for.

You were looking for a mayor who, whilst respecting Apeldoorn’s natural environment, tranquillity and traditions, also wanted to raise the city’s profile.

A mayor who cares deeply about entrepreneurs, but who also has an eye for the needs of those who are less fortunate.

The mayor you were looking for also had to strictly uphold safety and public order, whilst respecting the freedom you hold so dear. And recognise the importance of festivals and events, spectacles and happenings. In short, you were looking for a mayor who wanted to serve the natural balance of Apeldoorn. The balance between tranquillity and bustle. Tradition and innovation. Village and city. Down-to-earthness and swagger. That is what I have tried to do over the past six years.

In collaboration with you, in collaboration with partners both within and outside Apeldoorn, as well as in the Stedendriehoek region, the province and across the country.

Because Apeldoorn is not an island; we are part of a wider community. Just as our country is part of a wider European community.

Here I am standing before you once again, still full of ambition.

And out of my deep attachment to this city – with all its residents, businesspeople, associations and organisations – I am now looking beyond 2040, and towards 2050 as well. And that is when I can picture what I have just sketched out in broad strokes.

And if you’re thinking, ‘That man’s thinking quite a long way ahead…’: I’m certainly not the only one! Thanks to a company in Apeldoorn, this tin of chicken curry will even last me until 1 January 2050. So I feel fully supported in my tendency to dream about the future.

And don’t worry: I’m not looking that far ahead because I think I’ll still be mayor by then – but because I believe that governance is about looking ahead. Setting targets on the horizon. Cherishing ideals. Formulating ambitions. Inspiring and encouraging people. Forging networks. So that, ultimately, we can all pull together.

I consider it a great honour to be able to continue shaping my vision for Apeldoorn. To make Apeldoorn the pleasant, safe, innovative, incredibly welcoming, enterprising and close-knit city that it essentially already is – but one that has so much more to offer. So that all 200,000 people here can live, work and grow up here with great joy. That is my ambition. And I believe it is yours too.

At the same time – no matter how many dreams and ambitions you may have, you don’t always have the final say. Life isn’t something you can simply shape as you please. I know that only too well.

I am therefore grateful for everything I have already been given.

By the residents of this municipality.

By you, in this council; by the staff at the council secretariat; by my colleagues on the executive committee; by all the civil servants.

By my closest colleagues.

By my friends.

But above all, thanks to my family: I am incredibly grateful to them.

Thank you for the trust you have once again placed in me. I will do my very best.

Thank you very much.