Femke Halsema: ‘Every day, I see how resilient this city is’

The mayor is busy. In her office in the administrative wing of the city hall on Waterlooplein, overlooking the Amstel, there is a constant stream of people coming and going. When representatives from the neighborhood councils make way for the Management Scope team – led this time by Danny Tinga, a former police officer on Amsterdam’s Warmoesstraat and now a partner in the Resilience, Crisis & Reputation team at Deloitte Netherlands – the mayor takes a moment to adjust. But recognition quickly follows. ‘You are Henny Tinga’s son!’ she exclaims warmly. ‘How wonderful! How is your mother? I really must reach out to her soon!’ Danny is indeed the son of the well-known Amsterdam Salvation Army figure Henny Tinga, who has been active in the city’s Red Light District for over sixty years. Only last year, she was awarded the Frans Banninck Cocq Medal by Halsema herself for her contributions to the city. Danny Tinga – ‘born in that little house on the Oudezijds Voorburgwal’ – has, much like his mother, become a specialist in ‘resilience.’ His team is involved in initiatives such as the Bloemhof project in Rotterdam, where the government, the private sector, and the local community work together to bolster the resilience of the vulnerable Bloemhof neighborhood. Tinga is curious about the state of collaboration and resilience in his hometown.

I am curious to hear your thoughts on public-private partnerships. Are you enthusiastic about them?
‘Let me start by saying that I have always had major reservations about public-private partnerships. I was trained in the 1990s – right in the middle of the ‘Purple’ coalition years – at the Wiardi Beckman Foundation, the think tank of the Labour Party. Back then, public-private partnerships mostly meant that a great many public services were being privatized or semi-privatized. It was the era of the ‘corporatized’ government, when public administrators believed that market discipline would be good for the public sector. In most cases, that turned out to be a disastrous mistake. Think of healthcare or social housing. In practice, these partnerships meant letting market discipline reign, but without fully privatizing. As a result, all sorts of complex, and truly undesirable, administrative-law structures emerged. The government effectively distanced itself and rendered itself powerless. Flawed market mechanisms crept into public services, and those services certainly did not improve as a result. I think we have moved past that model of public-private partnership.’

But surely public-private partnerships look different these days, do they not?
‘Fortunately, yes. That was the old way of doing things. There is also a different, new form of public-private partnership, as developed by the Italian-American economist Mariana Mazzucato. She is an advocate for ‘public leadership’ in companies. The moment you start collaborating with companies, public values ​​must remain at the core of that collaboration – and not the other way around. So, where private-sector values ​​were exported to the government, we are now seeing the reverse movement. This is also evident here in Amsterdam, in the partnerships we form with the business community. I see the business community is slowly but surely changing. Partly because they are required to do so by laws and regulations, but also because companies and entrepreneurs intrinsically want to contribute to solving certain social problems. That said, I believe there is still a great deal of progress to be made in this regard.’

Can you give an example of an entrepreneur or a company that wants to contribute?
‘There are countless examples. I was recently at the Van Gendthallen in Amsterdam, which used to house a large locomotive and machinery factory. A few years ago, it was purchased by Eduard Zanen, the founder of Bugaboo.
He is now investing the money he earned from travel strollers and pushchairs into a new project, with the help of the Swedish investment fund Norrsken. He has transformed it into the most sustainable building in Europe. It will host tech startups, and to ensure commercial viability, there will also be a museum, the Drift Museum, and a large restaurant. He is investing his capital in a social, economic, and cultural project for the city. That is monumental, fantastic, and deeply impressive.
There are other examples, too: entrepreneurs like Rolly van Rappard and Rob Defares are also investing private capital into improving the city. Van Rappard has just contributed sixty million euros toward a new sculpture garden near the Rijksmuseum, which will be free and accessible to everyone. Defares is funding weekend schools, anti-poverty initiatives, and a new museum for modern art. That is priceless, both literally and figuratively. What we are seeing is a different kind of relationship between the public and private sectors emerging, one in which the private sector has embraced public values.’

Having worked on both the public and private sides, I have noticed that there are still many prejudices on both sides between the government and the business community. To put it bluntly: companies have always complained about the government’s sluggishness, while the government believes that companies are still primarily interested in making money. Do you recognize that?
‘Yes, I do. These are indeed prejudices, but they are not entirely unfounded. I understand companies’ frustration with the government’s slowness, for example, when it comes to issuing permits. At the same time, I am also surprised that a business does not understand that, as a government, you have to comply with all sorts of laws and requirements. There could be a little more understanding for that. We cannot simply sell land without going through a proper legal process. So, sometimes I think, guys, let us dial back the fuss a little.
Here in this city, I am also familiar with the prejudices against the business community. And I find that just as annoying. Yes, there are companies that are indeed only in the city to make a profit with no other connection to the city. I have a problem with that myself: companies that use the city essentially as a serviced apartment, letting their international employees enjoy the city without ever truly committing to it. It is annoying. But I also know an incredible number of companies that are, in fact, very engaged. And they are also prepared to contribute to a better city, both in word and deed.’

Which companies do you get along with best, and which ones worst?
‘We really cannot get much done with companies that have American shareholders. That is generally very difficult, because those companies have little connection to Amsterdam, and decisions are always made elsewhere.
The easiest relationships are with companies such as Kesbeke, known for their excellent pickles, or the real estate firm Kroonenberg; companies with deep Amsterdam roots that forged a connection with the city a long time ago. And they also want to give something back. Cor van Zadelhoff was just recently standing at Artis, looking rightfully proud; he had invested in Het Groote Museum [The Great Museum], and it turned out beautifully.
That is the kind of entrepreneurs a society needs. There is also a huge middle tier of companies here in the city, where it really comes down to the willingness of leaders to explain the importance of such initiatives to their employees. The moment these leaders delegate that responsibility to public affairs departments, the genuine engagement disappears. Because then you have people who say they might be willing to invest in the city, but only if it aligns with strengthening the company’s own corporate identity. And I find that a difficult conversation.’

Do you notice a difference between older and younger generations?
‘I see a massive generational shift here. When you visit the Zuidas – an economically significant district in Amsterdam – you immediately notice a difference between young and old. The older generations have a more singular focus on making a profit. This is already evident in the very layout of the Zuidas: the area feels cut off from the rest of the city. But the younger generation working there has a different mindset. I have had very difficult conversations with the older generation of Zuidas professionals about the boycott of Russia. Of course, they wanted to keep doing business with Russia, why not? You do not need to explain the reasoning to the younger generation; for them, these social norms are ingrained.’

These are extraordinary times, with much happening around resilience, dependence, geopolitical tensions, seventy-two-hour power outages… There is a lot going on. Is there also a convergence between the government and the business community when it comes to resilience? To tackle these challenges together?
‘Yes, I see a willingness on the part of the business community to tackle the major issues together, for example by discussing it within the Amsterdam Economic Board. Many companies realize that there is a high degree of mutual dependence, whether in the event of disasters, crises, or war. Or grid congestion. The solutions are often costly – so costly, in fact, that they can only be afforded through close collaboration. I see this, for example, in a growing willingness from the business community in the area of infrastructure. We can all see that the Netherlands’ earning capacity is declining. In the long run, that is a truly massive problem. It means, for example, that we need to improve access to our four major cities. I have noticed that companies are more open these days to contributing to that effort. It is also a matter of enlightened self-interest – and there is nothing wrong with that. The Netherlands became wealthy precisely through enlightened self-interest.’

Businesses rely on the world around them. What I see in my daily practice is that organizations that focus intensively on resilience begin to pursue different strategies. They are making different choices regarding business continuity, dependencies, and disaster recovery. In an ideal world, you would approach the topic of resilience more as an ecosystem. Would you agree?’
‘Yes, I see what you mean, but I do question whether that is something that should be done at the municipal level. It is a discussion we have been having with the national government for a very long time. I am not sure it is practical for every municipality to make its own agreements with retailers about what needs to happen during a seventy-two-hour power outage.  That would end up being a complete mess – to put it rather unparliamentary. I think there is a much larger role for the central government here in making agreements regarding distribution, procurement, and security of supply.
The issue of resilience has been somewhat forced upon municipalities. It emerged as a sort of trendy topic under the previous cabinet. They found it a convenient way to score some political points. Minister David van Weel really enjoyed working on it. Until he realized that if you actually want to do something about it, it is incredibly expensive. And incredibly labor-intensive. That is when they decided to shift the responsibility to the municipalities.’

‘And that is interesting, because when we do this consulting work on resilience and safety in organizations, there is really only one way to do it right: top-down…’
‘At the municipal level, people sometimes complain about silos. And rightly so. But at the national level, the situation is even more dramatic. The moment you even mention the word ‘integrality,’ everyone throws their hands up in despair, and you can practically see the stress-induced red spots appear on their necks. And then, in turn, the civil servants really do not know what to do anymore. We saw this, for example, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The national government is slow and immobile. And it is truly painful to realize, when you follow the hearings of the COVID-19 commission, that we have not learned a thing from it. And especially given the current polarization, with the current minority government, the country has become virtually ungovernable. I can only speak from the perspective of my own city. And every day I experience just how resilient this city is. There is an extraordinary capacity to take all necessary measures within a very short timeframe – something we also saw during the pandemic. In short, I think there is an incredible capacity for resilience in this city.’

Is our perspective on resilience too focused on the short term? It is as if we are at the gym because we want to be on the beach this summer with a six-pack, when we actually need to exercise more to stay fit in the long run. Should we not be working toward long-term commitments?
‘I do not think anyone really knows how to go about that. The discussion around resilience remains highly abstract. Should we, for example, really assume a seventy-two-hour power outage? For all we know, the whole place could flood … And every crisis demands different relationships and a different operational approach. So, it remains a matter of thinking in abstract terms. What is ultimately extremely important – but something you rarely hear people talking about – is ensuring that critical services are adequately staffed. Everyone talks about defense, which is fine, but no one is thinking about the police. They are barely holding it together at this point. That deserves far more attention.’ 

In crisis management, we often talk about ‘comfort and clarity’ for leadership: mutual expectations and trust in each other’s actions …
‘The relationships between us are the most important thing of all. That is why I am actually fairly calm and confident about this, despite the central government’s inertia. I know how we operate as a city; I know how the emergency services operate when it really matters. We have had a number of truly major public order crises, and we have always been able to find each other without hesitation. The police, the judicial system, the Municipal Health Service (GGD) – we work together seamlessly. I would stake my reputation on it. Even in the event of a seventy-two-hour power outage, we will still be able to find one another. I am not too worried about that. I know how we will handle things.’

This interview was published in Management Scope 09 2026.