The Dutch farmers’ party, formed in protest against government policies, has shaken up the political landscape of the Netherlands, emerging as a big winner in provincial elections that determine the composition of the Senate, writes Reuters. Some 13 million Dutch people went to the polls on Wednesday to elect parliaments in 12 provinces in an election that could destabilize Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s government.

The BBB party, short for BoerBurgerBeweging (Citizen Farmers Movement), has led a wave of protests against the government’s environmental policies and appears to have won more seats in the Senate than Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s conservative VVD party.

Early exit polls predicted the BBB would win 15 of the 75 seats in the Senate, the upper house of parliament that has the power to block legislation passed in the lower house. VVD falls from 12th to 10th place, according to the same forecasts.

“No one can ignore us anymore”

The BBB’s rapid rise is a major blow to Rutte’s ruling coalition, calling into question its goal to dramatically reduce nitrogen pollution on farms, the sole challenge to the establishment of the BBB in 2019.

“No one can ignore us anymore,” BBB leader Caroline van der Plas said on Radio 1. “Voters have been very clear against this government’s policies,” she commented.

The government aims to halve nitrogen emissions by 2030, as relatively large numbers of livestock and heavy fertilizer use have led to levels of nitrogen oxides in soil and water that breach European Union rules.

The nitrogen problem has paralyzed construction in the Netherlands as environmental groups won a series of court cases and judges ordered the government to limit emissions and protect the environment before new building permits could be issued.

The BBB says the problem has been exaggerated and that the proposed solutions unfairly disadvantage farmers, leading to farm closures and a crisis in food production.

Rutte’s government did not have a majority in the Senate after the previous provincial election in 2019 and has to make deals with opponents, mostly from the left.

The two parties he cooperated with, the Labor Party and the Green Left, appeared to retain their seats, keeping their combined group on par with the BBB and perhaps enough to support Rutte’s policies.

The BBB won a single seat in the lower house in 2021, but its popularity has grown amid growing distrust of the government and anger over issues such as immigration.

Rutte’s government, serving a fourth consecutive term since 2010, achieved a 20% result, the lowest in a decade.

(Source: News.ro)