Dutch Reporters Cover Chicago Mayoral Race
UPDATED 02/21/11 10:28 a.m.
CHICAGO (WBBM) -- Chicago's mayoral election has drawn international attention.
As WBBM Newsradio 780's Steve Miller reports, as the candidates made the rounds of Sunday church services, reporters from BKB Media in the Netherlands were tagging along.
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"That's very interesting for us to see that they come here in churches," said Rolf Bremmer, a reporter for Amsterdam-based BKB.
In Holland, Bremmer says, political candidates do not campaign in churches.
"Church one on side, state on the other, and you don't go to the church to campaign," Bremmer said. "No, that's absolutely not done."
Bremmer said he was surprised that Emanuel got such a warm reception at the church.
"Rahm Emanuel is Jewish; he's not Christian, so I thought he would have a more tough time," Bremmer said.
Another BKB Media reporter, Marjolein Kampschreur, is assigned to cover the race with a focus on Emanuel.
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"I think there's a lot of people who think it's funny how he dares to say everything in public," she said. "I heard about a dinner party where there was a knife involved and not-so-nice words."
The story involved a celebratory dinner after Bill Clinton won his second term as president in 1996, with Emanuel ticking off the names of those who had betrayed the campaign, jamming a steak knife into the table as he shouted "dead" after each name.
"You don't see that a lot in Holland," Kampschreur said.
Emanuel is known in the Netherlands because of his involvement in the White House. Bremmer says the Dutch are fascinated by him.
