It is small beer compared to the election mess in Rotterdam, but Emile Jaensch (VVD) points out that a number of council members in Zuidoost have formally not been sworn in. Cause: they have not correctly taken the oath. “Incidentally, I’m not loosing sleep over this tonight.”

New council members may choose between the secular vow and the religious oath. When taking the oath, the first two fingers of the right hand must be held up.

Last week, refuse piled up at stations and in trains; today, cleaners at Schiphol Airport have joined the national strike. The cleaners demand decent pay, travel expenses and Dutch language courses during work hours. Presently, they earn less than ten euro per hour.

Today, over a thousand cleaners protested at a car park at Schiphol. The municipality would not let them hold the meeting at Schiphol Plaza, according to the union.

The Amsterdam Historic Museum (AHM) has posted photos and descriptions of some 70,000 of its objects online. The material can be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons license. The objects range from 17th Century paintings to a wheel clamp and from weaponry to a model of the western extension of Amsterdam (Algemeen Uitbreidingsplan).

[Updated] Two men have entered the competition to select the ‘misses’ who will congratulate the winner of the prologue of the Giro d’Italia, but it seems unlikely that they will survive the first selection round next Friday. What is more, even the girl entrants may not be allowed to act as official Giro misses.

Last month, progressive party GroenLinks suggested that instead of a miss, a broad-shouldered man or a drag queen could congratulate the winner of the prologue of the Giro d’Italia in Amsterdam on 8 May. Foreign media reported that indeed a few men have entered the ‘Ciao Bella’ competition organised by local TV stations AT5 and RTV NH to select the Giro misses.

Thanks to its somewhat complex administrative structure, Amsterdam has a ‘mature’ cycling policy, argues consultant Dirk Ligtermoet in an article in Fietsberaad. Contrary to the national trend, bicycle use has increased in Amsterdam by 20% over the past twenty years.

According to Ligtermoet, Amsterdam has learned to turn its administrative complexity into an advantage, with a co-ordinating role for the municipality and districts contributing detailed knowledge of the local situation.

Foreign media offer extensive coverage of the Dutch national political crisis, but they cover a few local issues as well. They are mainly interested in the debate on foreign-language campaign material and the suggestion to have gay men kiss the winner of the prologue of the Giro d’Italia. “The misses will be Italian and will be brought from Italy by us.”

The Netherlands will elect a new Parliament on 9 June, as a result of the fall of the cabinet over Uruzgan. However, there will be local elections first, on next Wednesday.