BRUSSELS, MARCH 17 - The final and official results of the Dutch provincial elections indicate the exploits of the newborn BoerBurgerBeweging (Bbb), the 'Peasant-Citizen Movement', a formation that Dutch commentators have defined as 'agro-populist' and which on Wednesday night won 17 seats in the Eerste Kamer, the Dutch Senate, as the leading party in all 12 provinces of the Netherlands.
The Eurosceptics of FvD, who dropped from 12 seats in the 2019 elections to 2, were the big losers in the electoral round. Problems also for the 4 parties of the government coalition, which is losing support in the country, as well as the socialists. The final figures were released by the Dutch news agency Anp.
"The Netherlands has clearly shown that they are fed up with current politics. It's not just about nitrogen, it's about citizens who are not seen, not heard, not taken seriously," the BBB founder told public broadcaster NOS , Caroline van der Plas alluding to the identity battle of her movement, the one against the green policies of the Dutch government which has put 24 billion euros on the plate to finance the early closure of farms and the reduction of livestock with the aim of halving nitrogen emissions by 2030.
+For Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the election result is "a very clear cry for politicians who will now have to know how to listen", he said speaking on national TV.
According to the Dutch socialist and vice-president of the EU Commission, Frans Timmermans, "it is however a relief that the protest vote has not been channeled towards a xenophobic and racist force".
"I don't see the election result as a clash between the countryside and the city", Timmermans explained to the ANP, underlining that he is not afraid of rumors about the BBB's anti-European positions on the Green Deal: "I have always heard the leader say that she intends to respect EU rules".
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