Farmer–Citizen Movement
Dutch political party From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dutch political party From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Farmer–Citizen Movement (Dutch: BoerBurgerBeweging [buːrˈbʏr.ɣərbəˈʋeː.ɣɪŋ], BBB) is an agrarian[4] and right-wing populist[5] political party in the Netherlands.[6] It is headquartered in Deventer, Overijssel. The current party leader is founder Caroline van der Plas, who has led it since its creation in 2019.[7]
Farmer–Citizen Movement BoerBurgerBeweging | |
|---|---|
| |
| Abbreviation | BBB |
| Leader | Caroline van der Plas |
| Chairperson | Erik Stegink |
| Leader in the House of Representatives | Caroline van der Plas |
| Leader in the Senate | Ilona Lagas |
| Founder | Caroline van der Plas |
| Founded | 1 October 2019 |
| Headquarters | Smeenkhof 12-d, Colmschate, Deventer[1] |
| Youth wing | BBB Jong |
| Membership (2024) |  13,426[2] |
| Ideology | Agrarianism Conservatism Right-wing populism Soft Euroscepticism |
| Political position | Centre-right to right-wing |
| European Parliament group | European People's Party |
| Colours | Grass green |
| Slogan | De stem van en voor het platteland ("The voice of and for the countryside") |
| Senate | 16 / 75 |
| House of Representatives | 7 / 150 |
| States-Provincial | 137 / 572 |
| Water board[3] | 118 / 518 |
| European Parliament | 2 / 31 |
| Benelux Parliament | 2 / 21 |
| Website | |
| boerburgerbeweging | |
The Farmer–Citizen Movement was founded on 1 November 2019 by agricultural journalist Caroline van der Plas, together with Wim Groot Koerkamp and Henk Vermeer from agricultural marketing firm ReMarkAble, in response to the widespread farmers' protests that had taken place earlier that month.[8][9] On 17 October 2020, Van der Plas was unanimously chosen as the party's lead candidate.[10] It won one seat at the 2021 general election.[8]
The BBB won the 2023 provincial elections, winning the popular vote and receiving the most seats in all twelve provinces.[11][12][13][14] Given that the provincial councils elect the Dutch Senate, the party was predicted to win 17 seats in the 2023 Senate election, the most of any party;[13] it won 16 seats in the election.
On 1 September 2023, former JA21 MPs Nicki Pouw-Verweij and Derk Jan Eppink and former PVV MP Lilian Helder joined the BBB parliamentary group in the run-up to 2023 parliamentary elections, increasing the BBB's number of seats from one to four.[15] BBB also presented Mona Keijzer as candidate for Prime Minister.[16] The party won seven seats with nearly half a million votes.
The BBB is a primarily agrarian[4] and right-wing populist[5][17][18] political party, that is generally placed on the centre-right,[19][20][21][22] to right-wing[23][24][25][26][27] of the political spectrum. The party has been variously described as conservative,[21] centrist,[4] Christian-democratic,[28] and partially centre-left.[4] While not a far-right party itself, some academics and journalists have argued that it is supported by far-right elements.[29][30] The BBB shifted further to the right after PVV and JA21 members joined the BBB faction in September 2023.[31][32]
In European politics, the party is regarded as Eurosceptic.[5][33] The BBB supports Dutch membership of the European Union (EU) for trading purposes, but wants to reduce the power of the EU "to a level of how the EEC was once intended" and opposes federalisation of the EU. The party argues that each country and region within the EU should be allowed to maintain its identity and culture without interference.[34][33] It stated its intention to join the European People's Party[35] but unlike other EPP parties, BBB did not join the Christian Group in the Benelux Parliament[36] nor does BBB sit in the EPP group in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.[37]
On foreign policy, the party also supports Dutch membership of NATO and has called for providing Ukraine with F-16s.[38]
On immigration and asylum, the party supports accommodating refugees fleeing wars but prefers they be helped close to the region of where they are from rather than encouraging migration to the Netherlands and intends for most refugees to return home once the conflict is over. It also calls for immigrants to already be employed and financially self-supporting before moving to the Netherlands, and they must learn Dutch, work and pay tax in the Netherlands for at least five years before becoming eligible for permanent residency. The party supports deporting illegal immigrants.[33]
The party considers itself to support both food politics[39][failed verification] and rural development.[40][third-party source needed] It opposes the Rutte government's proposals to mitigate the human impact on the nitrogen cycle following the Nitrogen crisis in the Netherlands.[41]
Party leader Caroline van der Plas has stated that the Party for the Animals and animal rights organization Wakker Dier are two organisations with whom she disagrees with 99% of their viewpoints. She saw the effect of their campaigns and wanted to provide an alternative perspective on social media.[42]
In the 2021 general election, the party focused its campaign on issues important to rural and agrarian voters, including pledges for a "Ministry of the Countryside" located at least 100 kilometers from The Hague, and a removal of the ban on neonicotinoids.[43] The party called for a Right to Agriculture Act, which would allow for farmers to have more say on agricultural expansion matters, in response to local opposition to pig and goat farms over public health, environmental and agricultural concerns.
| Election | Lead candidate | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Caroline van der Plas | 104,319 | 1.00 | 1 / 150 |
New | Opposition |
| 2023 | 485,551 | 4.65 | 7 / 150 |
6 |
Coalition |
| Election | Lead candidate | Votes | Weight | % | Seats | +/– |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Ilona Lagas | 137 | 36,976 | 20.66 | 16 / 75 |
New |
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