The BoerBurgerBeweging came out as the big winner in the provincial election. Now that more than 80 percent of the vote has been counted, the BBB is expected to win fifteen seats in the Senate. “A roller coaster”, as political journalist Sophie van Leeuwen calls the result.
It was also a roller coaster ride for Caroline van der Plas. The BBB frontwoman “didn’t know it was going to be this big.” In a number of provinces, including Overijssel and Drenthe, more than thirty per cent of the votes go to the BBB. According to Van Leeuwen, that party can no longer be ignored. “She will be given the initiative in the provinces and will have to work with intermediary parties like the VVD and the CDA, which will be very interesting.”
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The fact that the BBB is growing so large in the provinces means that the toilet’s nitrogen plans are under threat: ‘Caroline must respect the rule of law, but there is enthusiasm for the delays. I think 2035 will be difficult and more years could be added,’ fears Van Leeuwen.
Left cloud
The BBB will likely be the largest in the Senate, with fifteen seats. The combined party of PvdA and GroenLinks, the ‘cloud left’, has also achieved a combined gain of fifteen seats so far. PvdA leader Attje Kuiken therefore calls the collaboration with GroenLinks “a success”. But the parts aren’t that big separately, says Van Leeuwen. ‘GroenLinks maintains profit from four years ago and PvdA gains one seat. Together they will therefore have fifteen seats and this is fundamental for the coalition”.
As it stands, the coalition has only 24 seats left in the Senate. According to Van Leeuwen you can “do absolutely nothing with that”. GroenLinks and the PvdA can help the coalition bring the majority together, but that comes at a price, says the political journalist. «Those parties want to push Rutte IV further to the left. He has to be greener, more progressive and companies have to pay more taxes, which will be painful for Rutte.’ Another option is for the coalition to seek a majority together with the BBB, but D66 is not keen.
Landslide
According to Van Leeuwen, the results show that there is a big gap between the countryside and the cities. In those big cities, parties like PvdA and GroenLinks are doing well, while the BBB has made significant gains particularly in the more rural parts of the country. The fact that people are also increasingly considering nature more important is evident from the fact that the Party for the Animals has also done well. According to the latest polls they will get one more place.
“It’s a big disappointment for the CDA”
There are no profits in the CDA, according to exit polls that party has almost halved. “Hoekstra calls him a landslide, he has not even been able to maintain the CDA stronghold in Zeeland and the base in the countryside opts en masse for the BBB,” says Van Leeuwen. “He has only five of the nine remaining seats, it’s a big disappointment.”
Protest voters
Disappointment also for Thierry Baudet of the Forum for Democracy. His party was the big winner in the previous provincial elections. But many of the voters who then chose the FvD have now switched to the BBB, Van Leeuwen thinks. “It’s an implosion of Minerva’s owl,” says the political chronicler, referring to Baudet’s speech four years ago. The result is also disappointing for PVV and SP. “They’re all protest voters who have switched to the BBB.”
Voter turnout in provincial council elections is currently over 62 percent. It’s much higher than it was four years ago. According to Van Leeuwen, both protest voters and progressive voters turned out en masse. “I think a lot of people are motivated to punish the cabinet and give Rutte IV a good whacking.”
Source: BNR
Fernando Dowling is an author and political journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. He has a deep understanding of the political landscape and a passion for analyzing the latest political trends and news.
