Hans Smits, Chief Executive of the Port Authority, was asked by Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb, on Tuesday 6 April, to serve as informateur for the new Rotterdam Municipal Executive.
After the council elections at the beginning of March, ex-minister Pieter Winsemius looked into a possible coalition for the new urban administration. He concluded that a coalition between the Labour Party (PvdA), Democrats 66 (D66), the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) would enjoy the most consensus in the municipal council.
Following consultation with the different political groups, the mayor asked Smits to take the reins, as external informateur, in forming the executive. Smits accepted the request and will start on his task as soon as possible. This role as informateur will take up a lot of Smits’s time in April.