The rise of the Dutch Socialist Party could end Holland’s reputation as a Brussels-friendly member of the beleaguered Eurozone club, reports Harriet Alexander.
Maastricht is a town at the heart of Europe. Tucked in a corner where Holland, Belgium and Germany meet, the smart Roman market town rings with German, French and Dutch voices, and is home to the famous 1992 treaty that created both the European Union and the euro.
But if prominent local politician Jan de Wit has his way, the heart of Maastricht – and of the Netherlands as a whole – will soon be beating a little less fervently for both.
“Maastricht may be a town which in the mind is associated with the EU, but that’s only on the surface,” said Mr de Wit. “Deep down, people share the same concerns as the rest of the Netherlands.
“Brussels interferes far too much with our own politics. They are telling us that we need is more austerity; that we must cut, cut, cut. But who are they to tell us what to do?”
Mr de Wit’s Socialist Party is whipping up a political storm that could have consequences not just for Holland, but for the entire European project that Maastricht gave birth to.