“Do I trust those people in Maastricht?” A woman in the audience hesitated noticeably when moderator Lennart Booij put the question to her. “Yes…” she replied, drawing laughter from the two hundred people in the audience. While the tone of the debate remained friendly throughout, the evening made it clear that old frustrations and perceived differences between the two cities continue to linger. “This feels like couples therapy”, one speaker joked.
Condescending reaction
According to another speaker, Maastricht could show greater awareness of Heerlen’s sense of loss after the coal mine closures of the 1960s. For decades, Heerlen had thrived due to the mining industry. When the mines were closed, attention turned towards Maastricht – the capital of the province. The city developed rapidly, partly thanks to the founding of the university, while Heerlen struggled with unemployment and poverty. This created tensions between the cities. For many in the room, a telling example was the condescending reaction from some Maastricht residents when the chemical giant DSM moved its headquarters from Heerlen to Maastricht in 2021, along the lines of “Of course they prefer it here – we’re modern and international!” The other side of the region hasn’t forgotten about this, as an online poll among audience members showed.
But different views were also voiced. Some argued that the idea of an invisible wall between the two municipalities (a graphic of this clearly resonated with the audience) is largely a myth: “The strength of South Limburg is precisely that we don’t all want to be the same.” A young woman added: “What’s all this about, really? It feels like we’re debating a made-up divide. My generation wants to work together.”
Gift to the region
That must have been exactly what the local politicians present at the debate wanted to hear. According to outgoing Heerlen councillor Jordy Clemens (Socialist Party), it is possible to acknowledge Heerlen’s pain “while still seeing the sense of cooperation”. Economic cooperation in particular is essential, added outgoing Maastricht councillor Frans Bastiaens (Senior Citizens Party): individual municipalities in Limburg are too small to keep up with national developments. And Pamela Habibović, president of Maastricht University, emphasised that what was then the State University of Limburg was “a gift to the region” – not just to the city of Maastricht.
And it remains a gift, she referred to the university’s planned expansion into Heerlen. Last year, it was announced that UM will invest in bachelor’s and master’s programmes in Heerlen. Within ten years, the university hopes to have around 1,250 students and more than a hundred staff members in Heerlen, many of whom are also expected to live there. “You need a narrative for that”, said Habibović, “a story that explains why students should want to come to Heerlen.” She wasn’t asked what such a narrative might look like, or how to avoid a situation like the one in Venlo (where the University College is struggling to attract new students).
In November, a second debate will take place at Centre Céramique in Maastricht.