International

It was a rather small news item. Investor Blackstone let at least 330 houses in Amsterdam stand empty. All this while we are facing a deep housing crisis and many people cannot find a suitable and affordable home. Blackstone claims that it wants to renovate the houses. That may sound noble but it is not the whole story. The investor is renovating houses in order to rent them out at much higher prices. In the Amsterdam West-Indische quarter, for example, rents went up from €500 to €2500 per month. Houses are a profit model for investors like Blackstone and co. Home seekers are the losers. And so is society as a whole. Blackstone has a trick up its sleeve to avoid paying any profit tax in the Netherlands. Housing prices are pushed up by investors, deepening the housing crisis. A new study by SOMO, commissioned by the SP, shows that Blackstone has no added value. High time to ban Blackstone en co.

On saturday a demonstration organized by the Dutch Socialist Party (SP) and the Party for the Animals (PvdD) attracted over 2000 people. On the Malieveld, there were speakers and Ukrainian folk music was played. After the demonstration, participants made a large peace sign, to support the appeal 'Stop the War'.