The Randstad must be the most famous non-existing city in the world. Every once in a while, someone causes commotion about the disastrous competitiveness situation of the Dutch Randstad (the area containing the country's largest cities Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht). And most frequently it is suggested that much of these problems would be solved if this area would get a regional government. This time, the discussion seems to be more serious than ever. The OECD advises to create a Randstad province, and a Dutch commision led by the former prime minister Kok does the same. How will the new Dutch government (still in the making) react?

I don't think it makes much sense to give a non-existing metropolis its own government. The big problem with the Randstad is that it only lives in the minds of planners and politicians, and not at all in the minds of the people living and working there. Why create such a region 'top-down'? Who wants this new region? And isn't it a bit old-fashioned to solve regional problems with a new government institution? It would be too bad for regional cooperation initatives going on at the regional level that really matters. Amsterdam has nothing in common with Rotterdam or The Hague, and not even much with the very nearby city of Utrecht. It is much more logical to encourage cooperation of Amsterdam with its suburbs and smaller and closer cities like Haarlem and Almere. And to establish that is already hard enough! With the regional elections (for our currently existing provinces) coming up, this issue is for sure 'to be continued'.