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11/1 Jurists want to stay in Oudemanhuispoort

8/2 Mayor’s portrait

8/2 Websites for social cohesion

7/2 Spreading tourism proceeds with difficulty

7/2 GroenLinks on districts: Be a man

6/2 Zuideramstel opens new office on Sabbath

5/2 The truth about integration

4/2 Wilders has little support on Amsterdam

3/2 Elite involved in neighbourhood

2/2 Johnnie Walker avoids taxes in Amsterdam

1/2 Rotterdam to tinker with district councils as well

31/1 Wooden rowing boats to disappear from Amstel

31/1 ZeeburgTV launched

27/1 Privacy activists to mess up loyalty card system

27/1 A few were still coughing, but that was an act

27/1 Chrisis in de Baarsjes

26/1 Youth have positive view of districts

24/1 Action groups call for Carmel and Jaffa boycott

24/1 PvdA members dismiss plan for districts

23/1 KLM takes on crisis with new uniform

23/1 District office not squatted

21/1 Merge districts

20/1 Closing squat bar Vrankrijk not necessary

20/1 Cleaners welcome new Schiphol director

18/1 Palestine at the Jewish Historical Museum

18/1 What is the right size for a district?

17/1 PvdA Oost against fewer districts

16/1 Committee: 7 districts by 2010

15/1 Soldiers may attend Afghanistan debate after all

15/1 Bait bike leads to arrest

14/1 Youth for Christ to republish vacancies

13/1 Paintings of the Zuidas

13/1 New Youth for Christ contoversy

11/1 Social cohesion initiative raises eyebrows

10/1 Fewer districts in 2010

10/1 Zuidas: People feel that we are losers

9/1 Fun on the ice - but not for all

9/1 Supermarket coupon fraud thwarted

9/1 I Amsterdam must remain exclusive

8/1 Use term Apartheid in every discussion

8/1 No city kiosk in Amsterdam yet

7/1 Snow

7/1 Fatima Elatik to run Zeeburg

7/1 Municipal managers to return to shop floor

4/1 Police: take photo of strange people

3/1 Gaza protest criticises politicians

1/1 Thousands to protest against attacks on Gaza

1/1 Mustapha Laboui leaves district council

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District Water Board: 'Voting not important'

1 November 2008 - Politicising district water boards is putting the safety of the Netherlands at risk, warns chairman Peter Vonk of the Algemene Waterschapspartij (AWP). New boards will be elected in the second half of November. For the first time, the candidates include representatives of political parties.

Vonk, who lives in Amsterdam Noord and is a candidate for the Hollands Noorderkwartier water board, told Waterforum that the specific role of the water boards should not be subjected to political hypes and interests. "Protection against the water is politically not sexy and will be subordinated to the issues of the day", he added.

In an article at the same website, two dike wardens have defended the role of political parties in water boards. In an open letter, Vonk says that the dike wardens should be impartial and should therefore not have interfered in the debate. He says doing so is like the Queen interfering in national elections.

He suggests that the two dike wardens may have an interest in defending the role of political parties. One of them, Henk Tiesinga, presided over the committee that wrote the CDA election platform. And the other, Monique de Vries, plays an active role in the VVD.

The dike wardens say that the tasks of the water boards are well defined and that there is therefore no reason for concern that other issues will take precedence over water safety. However, De Vries does expect that there will be sharper debates, which may also raise public interest in the work of the water boards.

Whether this will lead to higher turnout in elections is unsure. Both Tiesinga and De Vries claim that low turnout is in fact a sign of strength. "The number of people who don't turn out to vote should be added, one might say, for often that's a sign that we're doing pretty well", Tiesinga said.

Waterforum, water board candidates (both in Dutch). Photo: Wendy