Utrecht mayor has critical article pulled

A local free newspaper in Utrecht has accused mayor Aleid Wolfsen of muzzling press freedom.

The mayor allegedly blocked the publication of an article about himself in Ons Utrecht (Our Utrecht). In the article professor of administrative law Twan Tak said the mayor was not entitled to some of the 17,000 euros he claimed in living expenses.

Mayors are required to live in their municipality, but often spend time in temporary accomodation. Under current rules, only hotel expenses can be claimed, according to Tak, so Wolfsen was at fault for claiming the cost of the apartment he lived in before finding a permanent residence in Utrecht.

Asked for his reaction by the freesheet, the mayor apparently became extremely annoyed. At a press conference held to explain his objections to the article on Tuesday, he commented: "What he said is just nonsense. I'm a former judge and I know nonsense when I see it. This was an attempt to create a specific impression about my person and I couldn't allow that."

The editor of Ons Utrecht, Robert-Jan van der Horst, says he was put under pressure and conversations with mayor Wolfsen were "extremely unpleasant". When Van der Horst refused to cancel the article, Wolfsen allegedly called the publisher who then destroyed the publication and printed 120,000 new copies, minus the disputed article.

During a debate about the issue in parliament on Tuesday, national affairs minister Guusje ter Horst was called on by members of parliament from across the political divide to come up with clearer rules about temporary accommodation for new mayors.

Wolfsen is not the first mayor to come under fire over expenses. Stefan Hulman, the mayor of Den Helder, was forced to resign this month after it came to light that he received money from the municipality to cover the mortgage of the house he still owned in Rotterdam.