According to observers, the election result endangers the stability of the coalition, and Dutch newspapers speak of a “historic memorandum” and an “agreement with the Rutte government”. Prime Minister Rutte of the right-wing Liberal People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), which has been in power for over a dozen years, was disappointed: “This is not the victory we were hoping for,” Rutte said. At the same time, he was confident that he would find majorities.
On the other hand, the BBB protest party was very happy, which won the majority of votes in eight of the twelve provinces and will eventually occupy 15 of the 75 seats in the Senate. In the words of its president, Caroline van der Plas, it represents “citizens who are not heard”. The big election victory was a signal to The Hague: “You can no longer ignore us. We will help govern.” The right-wing bloc of Rutte’s right-wing liberal VVD now includes five parties, which together make up about a third of the electorate. “Now something must finally change,” said the head of the BBB, van der Plas.
Netherlands: Peasant Party wins provincial elections
Dutch voters gave Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s government a dramatic reminder in Wednesday’s provincial elections. On the other hand, according to preliminary results, the new populist citizen-farmer movement (BBB) has recorded a landslide victory. It benefited from voter dissatisfaction and immediately became the strongest political force. This is what emerges from the preliminary results that the TV station NOS released on Thursday night.
Rutte’s major reforms can hardly be implemented
Not only were the parliaments of the twelve provinces elected, but also indirectly the first chamber of the national parliament. The four coalition parties have just under a third (about 30%) of the 75 seats in the first chamber. It is doubtful that Rutte’s government will still be able to pass important laws on agricultural reform, climate protection and asylum policy, because it ended up falling short of the majority needed for legislative decisions.
The Social Democrats and the Greens ran together for the first time and managed to record small gains. The extremist right-wing Forum for Democracy, which surprisingly won the election four years ago, suffered heavy losses. Right-wing populist Geert Wilders also lost slightly with his party.
Drastic environmental regulations as a mobilization factor
The main issue in these elections was the announced drastic environmental regulations for agriculture. The BBB protest movement was not only strong in rural areas, but also in cities. She stood for the first time in the 2021 general election and received one percent of the vote. Now it has reached about 19 percent.
Since the Dutch government introduced the package of measures to curb soil nitrogen pollution last year, farmers’ anger has been boiling – there have been repeated large-scale protests, often violent riots.
The plan is to drastically reduce nitrogen inputs by 2030. This decision was triggered by a ruling by the highest court in 2019. The government estimates that the measures could spell the end of around 30% of livestock farms.
Farms will be bought or even expropriated
The owners of some 3,000 farms, which emit the most nitrogen near threatened natural areas, must be persuaded to sell them or, at the very least, drastically reduce their herds. But expropriations are not excluded either. “We have no choice,” said Nature and Nitrogen Minister Christianne van der Wal. “Nature can’t wait.”
For years, a lot of reactive nitrogen has been emitted into the air at European-protected Natura 2000 sites in the Netherlands. The main cause is intensive livestock farming, which produces a lot of ammonia. This has dramatic consequences for biodiversity. The soil becomes acidic, plants and trees die, they are covered with blackberries or nettles. Insects, birds and other animals disappear.
Dutch media have reported that there will now be a clash between the Peasant Party and the alliance of the Green Party Groenlinks and the Social Democratic Workers’ Party (PvdA), which also has 15 seats in the Senate. By doing so, the BBB could join forces with right-wing parties that also oppose the government’s nitrogen plans. According to the newspaper De Volkskrant, the two blocs would demand big concessions for cooperation with Rutte.
Agricultural sector as an important economic factor
The country’s agricultural sector is huge and one of the biggest exporters in the world. Last year, around 52,000 farms exported goods worth €122 billion abroad, nearly a quarter of which went to Germany.
For years, environmental pollution was tolerated or legalized with exceptions, although limit values were exceeded. Loopholes were found again and again just to avoid restricting agricultural production. The government now admits it was a mistake. But farmers are demanding future prospects and feel politicians have let them down. They also doubt the need for the measures.