Jan van Eerd will be active in local politics after all. He will be a committee member of the one-man party FvD in the Eindhoven city council.
FvD only got one seat after the elections. Therefore, Fvd councillor Nicolas Knoester will take his place in the council, but will be assisted by Van Eerd. This is remarkable.
After all, Van Eerd’s political star reached its ‘peak’ even before the local council elections began. On social media, the number two on the Eindhoven list of Forum for Democracy went completely off the rails. This was noticed by Omroep Brabant at the time.
Minister Hugo de Jonge and mayor John Jorritsma were among those who took offense. The former could count on comparisons with Nazi doctor Josef Mengele, who performed gruesome experiments on Jewish people in concentration camps. Jorritsma was called a “sandal licker” and Denk MP Tunahan Kuzu was even physically threatened: “… we will kick you out”.
For Forum van Democratie, these are not reasons to prevent the Eindhoven inhabitant from having a function in politics. Councillor Nicolas Knoester says he assumes that Van Eerd will adopt a more decent attitude in his political work when dealing with minorities or dissidents.
Friendly man
“I have known him for three to four months now,” says Knoester. “I know him as an open and friendly man. That’s why he seemed suitable to me as a committee member. I don’t think working with others will be a problem. I don’t recognise the image that is painted of him as someone who is violent or extremist. The expressions on social media are not relevant to me.”
Earlier, the FvD central office announced that an investigation into Van Eerd’s behaviour was underway. However, the result of this is a mystery. “For that you have to call the party central office. I don’t know the results of the investigation,” says Knoester.
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Simge Taşdemir
