the Netherlands: Housing tops Dutch and expat local election concerns
Ensuring a supply of affordable housing is the biggest issue for town and city councils ahead of the local elections, according to both the native Dutch and expats.
An online poll carried out by broadcaster NOS and regional television stations put housing top of the list of voter concerns. A smaller poll by DutchNews.nl showed that affordable housing also tops the expat voter list. EU nationals and foreigners who have officially lived in the Netherlands for at least five years are entitled to take part in the March 21 vote.
Second in the NOS poll was cutting red tape, while boosting sustainability came in third place.
Neither option was included in the DutchNews.nl poll, in which the provision of good local services such as waste collection came second. Encouraging immigration was third.
The DutchNews.nl poll also showed that liberal democratic party D66 remains the most popular among non-Dutch nationals but that GroenLinks is close behind. The VVD are in third place.
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