EN: Visions for Maastricht: ‘For the people of Maastricht’ with Jo Smeets

Vote! 

Are you a European citizen, and are you registered in the municipality of Maastricht? Then, good news! You can vote in the upcoming local elections on March 18th! 

Our local coverage team invited candidates for interviews, and it aims to give keys to students to make their choice, without any editorial endorsement. 

We are already on our eighth episode! Check out the previous ones on our website. Today, we talk with Jo Smeets, from ‘Maastricht van Nu’. 

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About Jo

Maastricht Diplomat (MD): Were you born in Maastricht?

Jo Smeets (JS): I’m a true ‘sjeng’, yes.

Editor’s note: A sjeng is a word in the Maastricht dialect for a local. 

MD: What does being from Maastricht mean to you?

JS: I find the word ‘Maastrichtenaar’ strange. Everyone who lives in Maastricht is a Maastrichtenaar. Whether you were born here or not. I sometimes joke that you’re only a ‘sjeng’ if you were born here, but a Maastricht resident is anyone who lives here. I have to say that I am proud of my city, of course. 

MD: What languages do you speak?

JS: Mestreechs, Dutch, and the rest are fairly limited. 

Maastricht van Nu & you

MD: Why did you enter politics? 

JS: Most people will be surprised by my story. When I was working as a security guard for coffee shops in Maastricht, it was decided that foreigners would no longer be allowed to buy cannabis in Dutch coffee shops. I said, “We're not just going to accept that, are we?” The next day, I was chairman of the national Organisation of Coffeeshop Staff in the Netherlands. 

Then a local party in Maastricht asked me to help attract voters. I became number 7 on the list. 7 was a nice number for me, and they would never get that many seats anyway. But I received so many “preferential votes” that I ended up on the council. I didn't say a word for the first two years. Everything was new, everything was awful, because I didn't come from the [political] world at all. But for the last 10 years, I’ve stopped keeping my mouth shut.  

MD: What was the biggest obstacle for you when you started in politics?

JS: In my job, I never had to speak in front of large groups; I never had that responsibility. As a councillor, I think you have a heavy responsibility.

MD: To your voters?

JS: Not just to the voters. I am in politics to do what is good for everyone here in Maastricht. It is true that I have my own way of thinking, that we have written our own programme, that we do it our own way. But whether it is someone who votes for GroenLinks or Volt, I do feel the responsibility. As a party, we enter into discussions with parties such as Landbouwbelang as the only party “on the other side” of the political spectrum. You should interact with each other by engaging in discussions with each other. It's not about who you vote for. Of course, I want everyone to vote for us, but that's not what drives me.

‘I don't have people on my list just to fill the 50 seats for the elections.’ 

MD: So your raison d'être is to be there for everyone?

JS: What it comes down to is that we want a different kind of politics. After ten years with my other party (Jo was part of ‘Partij Veilig Maastricht’), I realised, along with several others, that we wanted to do things differently. We noticed that many people felt they weren't being heard, so we opted for a completely different approach. 

MD: How do you hear the unheard? How does your party differ from other parties in this respect?

JS: I'm not interested in any of the [official] documents I receive because they are written by civil servants. We want to be present everywhere as a party. Today, for example, we are discussing [the neighbourhood] De Heeg, so we are present in De Heeg today to get a feel for what it's like there. We have enough members in the party who have time for this, and I used to do it myself. Let me give you an example. A few years ago, I wrote an initiative proposal about homeless young people, so I went and lived as a homeless person myself for a few days. That's a different kind of politics. We have people in our team who are very low-educated university graduates. 

MD: How does this approach translate into the council?

JS: We are sharp in debate, I always say. We are not afraid to express our opinions. We also submit motions and amendments, but we don’t try to make them acceptable for the council just so that we can say, “Look, we have passed a motion”. We, as a party, will confront anyone where necessary, including the mayor. 

‘We want to prove that we are doing things the right way.’

MD: This is the first time you are participating in the elections as your own party after splitting from the Partij Veilig Maastricht. Does that make you nervous?

JS: It's nerve-wracking if you let it get to you. As a party, we want to show Maastricht that we are stable. I'll be happy with just one seat. Of course, I hope for more, but even with just one seat, I can bring stability to the city. 

MD: What has your experience in the council been like so far?

JS: Politics is dualism. You don't have to be friends, and you can be tough on each other. I have a feeling that politics is no longer for the people, but for the sake of power. No one in my party becomes an alderman, because that way everyone can speak freely without having to worry about [their job]. I want aldermen who know what they're doing. Nowadays, aldermen often change roles, and I've never met a butcher who became a baker. 

MD: Is your party left-wing or right-wing?

JS: What is left, what is right? Neither left nor right exists for me. When I'm working with the homeless, everyone calls me a left-winger, and when I say we need to take tougher action against people who glue themselves to the ground (climate activists), I'm suddenly a right-wing guy. I'm a centrist, and I can work with everyone. The chance of cooperation with the extremes on either side is small. But I don't exclude anyone. 

‘You have to be able to explain decisions regarding students to the city’s residents’

MD: Your election manifesto is called ‘Give the city back to its residents’. So, to whom does the city belong at the moment?

JS: At the moment, the city belongs to people from outside Maastricht. A resident is anyone who lives in Maastricht – let’s be clear about that. Take tourism as an example. I’m quite sure that a large proportion of residents in the suburbs hardly ever visit the city centre anymore. It’s too busy, or unaffordable. Without undermining [tourism] – because let’s be honest, we earn a lot of money from it – we can still restore a balance. And we can find that balance with tourists and students. Our party manifesto is the only one that sets out how we’re going to raise funds to implement other policies. 

MD: What does your party think of the international student population?

JS: The university is very important for Maastricht; I’m honest about that. It has brought a lot of prosperity and employment. The problem is that in some neighbourhoods, you can no longer live decently. Recently, I was sitting down with the student council, and I made it clear: it’s not the students, but the bicycles or the noise pollution. I think: why does everything have to be in Maastricht? Heerlen, for example, could be a location for an additional campus. We need to collaborate with the surrounding municipalities. We’re looking at a different approach. 

‘There needs to be a change in mindset for a fairer approach.’

MD: How do you tackle poverty in Maastricht?

JS: It needs to be tackled properly for once. For example, we have many people with debts of 10,000 euros or more. If we, as a council, pay that 10,000 with good conditions, then there is potential for a positive outcome. Many people do not go to work because they do not gain much compared to social security benefits. We say: we’ll draw up a plan, and you can get your life back on track. On condition, however, that you work and learn to manage your money properly in the future. In that case, we’ll write off the debt. That’s a difficult step, but a necessary one. In this way, we want to show that people are capable of working.

MD: You want to build a Maastricht Museum, focusing on the city’s language and culture. How do you intend to keep the ‘Maastrichter Geis’ alive? 

JS: We already have a Maastricht museum in the Ceramique. They currently have an 18th-century gallows on display there, but that’s not what appeals to a Maastricht resident. We’re talking about Roeije Pierre, about the Mestreecher Taol. It would be good to have a building featuring genuine Maastricht artefacts. 

MD: And how do you intend to involve new residents, from other parts of the Netherlands or abroad, in Maastricht culture?

JS: The council does have a role to play in that, but realistically speaking, it’s almost impossible. There are many people who don’t get involved in the city. That’s the case with students and expats. Some are actively involved, but others are quite happy just to have a beer on a terrace. It’s a shame, but you’re not going to change it. If you do not influence something, you have to accept it. 

‘Actually, we’re mainly striving for balance.’

MD: Culture is important to your party. What is your party’s stance on Landbouwbelang?

JS: I’m fine with Landbouwbelang. I’ve got nothing against them. I’m strongly opposed to their methods, namely that they don’t adhere to the rules and obligations that do apply to other organisations in the city. There can certainly be a cultural haven, but it has to stay within the lines. The same goes for the Muziekgieterij, which receives substantial subsidies, but the Platte Zaol (event venue) gets nothing. LBB will have to leave at some point, because I have different ideas about what should happen to such a venue.

MD: In your manifesto, you also spoke about social cohesion in the city. Specifically, you mention the Maalberg and Daalhof neighbourhoods as examples of areas where things ‘work well’. What is working well there, and how can that be applied to the rest of the city?

JS: In those neighbourhoods, all social services, such as care, are concentrated in a single building. I want to bring this to the whole of Maastricht. We want community centres that are truly for the community. Everything is close by, and this can also be combined with student accommodation. We want to look at buildings where young and old live together. If something works well, you simply have to promote it.

 ‘Everyone should be free to live where they want.’ 

MD: How do you intend to tackle the housing shortage in Maastricht?

JS: Actually, what I’m noticing now, even on my own street, is that prices are getting too high and people no longer know one another. Young people are now moving to the surrounding municipalities, to Eijsden-Margraten, where prices are lower, simply because there’s nothing to be found in Maastricht anyway. And on the waiting list, you’ll be retired before you get a home. 

MD: You argue that refugee-status holders should not be given priority in the allocation of vacant homes. You previously stated that an unpopular and unfair measure, such as debt forgiveness, is painful but necessary. Why is that different for this case?

JS: To be clear, I am here for my city, for my residents. Every day, I receive reports that 35-year-olds are still living at home because they cannot find a home. With all due respect, I understand that there is a need for help, but I want to solve our own problems first. They have to wait for housing, just like any other Maastricht resident. 

MD: Your manifesto says little about sustainability and the green transition. What does your party intend to do about this?

JS: For us, going green means: Yes, where we can, we’ll do it. It’s not a priority for us, but many things are regulated at the national level. I’d love to see solar panels on every roof, but we see that national policy isn’t enabling this. We’ll do what we can as a council.

‘Giving the city back to its residents.’ 

MD: Why should young people vote in local elections?

JS: I was brought up with the idea that you vote from the age of eighteen. At the same time, I understand that they’re less interested. There are 17 parties and therefore 17 party manifestos in Maastricht. I can understand that not all of them are read. But we share everything we do on social media. That’s how we try to bring everything closer to the public.

MD: Why should an international student vote for Maastricht van Nu, out of all the parties?

JS: We are the only party with realistic policies. We don’t try to appeal to students, but we’re not against them either.